Biting The Dust
by RWBYSanctum
Summary: AU. Ruby is an aspiring weapons designer looking to join the prestigious Schnee Dust Company. Weiss is the heiress to the company Blake is a mistreated Faunus working at one of the SDC's factories, and Yang is in charge of overall security. When an enemy threatens to destroy the SDC, these four must band together to bring the threat down. WhiteRose and BumbleBee. Summary sucks.
1. Chapter 1

**Hellooooooo, people! Been a while since I've been back on the site, but now I'm here to bring to you guys another story! Or rather two.**

 **So this story is an AU where Team RWBY are all working at the Schnee Dust Company. They'll be assumed to have their weapons and the know-how of dealing with Grimm or attackers, though as of now I don't have any Grimm attacks planned. This is one of two stories I plan to write concurrently, the other being Vale High, a high school AU where Grimm never existed and so Hunters and Huntresses never existed, so the characters go to a regular high school. I must warn you that this story is rather dark, so if you want to go for something slightly more light-hearted, I would advise you check out Vale High.**

 **Some notes, and this is very important for the ending: All characters are at the same age they are at in the show (Weiss, Blake and Yang are all 18) with the exception of Ruby, who is one year older, at 17. I know Ruby is 15 and the others are 17 in the show, but I'm assuming a year has passed since Volume 1 and Volume 3.**

 **Anyway, let's get on with it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. All rights belong to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (RIP). Rated T for violence, blood and character death (yes, people are gonna die)**

Chapter 1

Legends often talk of a time when man did not exist. In those days, there was nothing but darkness, and creatures of the night roamed and ruled the land. Mankind came into being when light pierced through the darkness, driving these creatures of evil away. Over time, humanity began to grow, unopposed by the creatures of the dark. They began to conquer and take over the land, driving out those who threatened them, while living harmoniously with other creatures that roamed the earth.

But light cannot drive away the darkness completely. Just as the sun rises and gives light to drive the darkness away, so darkness rises and settles when the sun sets. From this darkness came creatures far more fearsome and deadly than anything humans had ever imagined: creatures that were manifestations of nightmares and despair. These creatures of nightmares—the creatures of Grimm—snuffed out any light they find, determined to bring the brief existence of Man to an end. Man was young; he was incapable of fighting back, and hope began to fade.

But even a single ray of light in the darkness is a beacon of hope, a means of providing comfort and power against the dark. Eventually, man's passion, resourcefulness and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds against these creatures. This power was appropriately named, "dust". Over time, man discovered new ways of using dust in their fight for survival, the main use being as a weapon, and they soon discovered a few talented individuals who were able to channel dust much better than any regular human. These individuals became the front line against the darkness, hunting and destroying any Grimm who dared attack humanity. As time went on, the legacy of these Hunters and Huntresses spread, and there were many who sought to be a part of that legacy.

But many have forgotten the true reasons for mankind's revitalised fight against the dark. They attempt to join the elite ranks of the Hunters and Huntresses, without ever realizing where their power comes from: Dust. And it is because of this oversight that Dust mining companies became almost forgotten, doomed to spend their lives in obscurity.

There is, however, one exception to this rule, one company that rises above the rest. Known not just for Dust mining, but also known for the development of weapons capable of channelling dust that had been become part and parcel of a Huntsman's arsenal. It was even said that amongst these warriors, there was a chance each and every single weapon had once been made and designed by the Schnee Dust Company. Imposing, powerful and famous, the SDC made its name as the primary weapons developer and dust miner for Vale, Vacuo and Mistral, though most of its influence was in Vale. That influence can be seen from the imposing skyscraper that stands tall above the skyline, a shining beacon and symbol of the power of the SDC.

And it was this building that young 17-year-old Ruby Rose found herself staring at, mouth agape in awe. She had seen the SDC building from afar, but never this close. Security at the SDC was so tight and so strict that few members of the public were allowed near the building, and Ruby counted herself as lucky that she could count herself in the small group that were allowed in.

 _And if all goes well today,_ Ruby thought to herself, _I can have this view everyday._

The nerves that Ruby had been pushing down for days suddenly flooded in, and she felt herself nervously looking around at the 6 other civilians that had been allowed in for the same reason as she.

 _Oh man, I can't do this. What if I screw up? What if something happens and I'm not prepared?_ The thoughts fly around in her head, and she begins to panic.

"Rubes!"

Ruby turns around to see a blond-haired girl walking towards her from the front door. As soon as the girl reaches her, she pulls Ruby into a tight hug. Ruby lets out a sharp exhale as the air is driven from her lungs, and the girl lets go.

"I'm so happy for you! You're the youngest applicant who's actually made it this far!"

"Thanks, Yang, but I don't think age counts for a lot here. If anything, it would be used against me, wouldn't it? Since I'm, like, the youngest here?" Ruby confides in her older sister.

"Come on, Ruby, don't be so sombre! You're gonna do fine! You're Ruby Rose, talented weapons designer and youngest graduate from Beacon Academy! Plus, look at me! I was the youngest in my group, and I got in and I'm doing well!" Yang encourages.

Ruby smiles, "If by "doing well" you mean having to constantly be on the move to SDC's factories in case of any riots or security issues and coming home stinking like a garbage bag, then I'm pretty sure I can better than that."

Yang mocks-gasps, "Is that a challenge, my dear sister Ruby?"

"It is, my dear sister Yang." Ruby challenges, her spirits being lifted by Yang's words.

"That's the spirit, sis! Now go in there and show them how it's done!" Yang claps Ruby's back, and the force sends Ruby toppling to the ground.

"Sorry! These mods to the Celica are still being tested! Still don't really know how much better they are!" Yang apologizes sheepishly before helping to pull Ruby up.

"They're-ow!-definitely more powerful than your last one." Ruby grunts through the pain.

"May all candidates for interview, please enter the building now." A mechanical voice sounds throughout the courtyard, courtesy of the many megaphones around the area.

"That's my cue. Wish me luck!" Ruby hugs her sister quickly, before pulling away and grabbing her stuff.

"You can do it, Ruby!" Yang cheers as Ruby disappears into the building.  
-

Like all other companies, the SDC has to hire new faces every now and then to keep the job market afloat and to ensure they had a workforce that was young and innovative. However, the SDC's hiring policy deviates drastically from other companies.

Every 3 months, the SDC opened up applications for the people of Vale to apply for various positions in various branches. These include receptionists, service workers and the like. Over 400 applicants are eventually selected, of which 200 go on to secure a job in the company. However, the SDC's most coveted branch, Weapons Design, was entirely different. Throughout the year, the media division monitors news and reports on individuals who have the capability to design decent weapons. From there, the shortlisted individuals are called up and required to undertake a rigorous examination. Only the top 5 to 10 make it to the final round, where they are put through an interview with an important high-ranking officer in the division. The interviewer's identity is never revealed until all the selected candidates were called into the office on the day itself.

From these selected few, no more than 2 are selected.

Ruby remembered the stoic, expressionless face of the woman who had briefed the shortlisted few prior to the first examination, and it was only as she sat in the waiting room, surrounded by 6 strangers, that she realized the daunting task ahead of her. Not only was she competing against people who were older and more experienced than her, but she was competing against some of the brightest talents to come out of Vale's system. Ruby was no pushover—she had won her fair share of awards before with regards to weapons design—but it was as she scanned the room that she realized just how insignificant those awards could be.

One by one, the candidates were called forth. Earlier during the wait, an SDC employee had them draw lots to determine the order in which they would enter, and Ruby had the fortune—or perhaps misfortune—to have drawn the short straw. As each person made their way into the office when they were called, Ruby found herself sinking deeper and deeper into her fear and anxiety.

 _Oh god, oh god, it's almost my turn. Oh, what happens if something goes wrong? I cannot miss this opportunity to get here! But how am I going to stand out? I don't have anything on these people! Oh…_

It felt like an eternity before the office door opened. A pale unsmiling female worker stepped out of the door and looked at her.

"Miss Rose?"

"Ummm…y-yes?" Ruby stuttered out.

"It is your turn now." The woman saw the young 17-year-old before her literally shaking in anxiety, and she relaxed her features slightly. She remembered how she felt when she sat here all those years ago, and she understood how the girl was feeling.

She gave an reassuring smile as Ruby walked through, and whispered, "Good luck" just as the door closed behind Ruby.

The office was huge. Ruby had attended Beacon Academy, the premier school for weapons design and training, and during that time she had a dorm room to herself. It had been so large that when Ruby first stepped in, she got vertigo just looking up at the ceiling.

While the office wasn't higher than that, it certainly had much more space. There was a single glass table that filled up about half the room, and there was still space for three bookshelves that were packed to the brim with books. One look and Ruby saw that none of them looked remotely like a fiction book; the books resembled her textbooks when she was at Beacon: binded in rich leather, bigger than her, and a pain to carry.

At the centre of the table sat a sole figure. The windows of the room were to the figure's back, so as Ruby stepped in, the sunlight caught for a moment and she hadn't seen the figure. As her eyes adjusted, Ruby began to realize why she hadn't seen the girl in the first place.

Ruby had never seen so much white on a person before. From her skin tone, to her hair, and even her outfit, the woman before her was white down to the bone. She wore her hair in one long ponytail of sheer whiteness, which ended halfway down her back. Her face was unblemished, the only shade of colour coming from her blue eyes.

"Would you like a seat, or would you prefer to stand for the next 20 minutes?" The woman asked, leaning forward to address Ruby. It was then Ruby saw that the "woman" wasn't actually an adult, but a teenager. She looked not much older than Ruby, maybe a year apart or so, and while she carried herself in a manner more mature than most girls' Ruby's age, her face gave it away.

It was also at this moment that Ruby knew who she was talking to, and it certainly didn't help her nerves.

 _Oh no. Nononono. Of all the people to interview me, it's her?_

Even if Ruby had never met the girl in her life, she would have recognized the face of Weiss Schnee anywhere. The heiress to the SDC may have always been camera shy, but she was by no means less famous than the company she shared her name with. Intelligent, cold and ruthless were just some of the common terms used to describe the so-called "Ice Queen", who had graduated from Beacon at the age of 17, and was training to become the next CEO of the SDC.

"Excuse me? Are you deaf?" Weiss announced, and Ruby realized she had been staring at the girl without response.

"Oh, I'm…I'm so sorry," Ruby stammered, "and yes, I'll…um, have a seat, if…if you don't mind."

Weiss didn't respond, simply gesturing to an empty chair. Ruby pulled the chair out and sat.

"So…Ruby Rose." Weiss had a file with her when Ruby had entered; now she opened it. "Graduated from Signal High, top class honours, at the age of 13, and later from Beacon Academy at the age of 16." She recited, and Ruby noticed with a little element of shock that Weiss hadn't even looked at the file. In fact, she had looking at Ruby in the eye the whole time.

"3-time winner of the Vale Vytal Festival, and—get this—with a weapon described as "being unlike anything I had ever seen before" by Walter Schnee." Weiss continued, continuing to stare at Ruby.

Ruby shuffled uncomfortably in her chair. Weiss' cold demeanour chilled her, and it was obvious just how intelligent this woman was.

"With such a talent like you, being able to craft your own weapon and win a fighting tournament—especially a big one like Vytal—and at such a young age, no less, you seem like a no-brainer for the position here."

With those words, Ruby's spirits rose slightly. She knew it wasn't over—Weiss wouldn't have called her in here just to give her the job right off the bat—but it was encouraging to know that something was going right for her.

"However," Weiss emphasized, and immediately Ruby's fear rushed in, quickly replacing the small state of euphoria she had just felt, "I have also seen 6 others who have just as many good, if not more qualifications than you. In a way, your age puts you at a major disadvantage her, Miss Rose, but not in the way you think. You have substance, but you don't have enough experience, and your transcripts show that for all your talent, your immaturity certainly grew with it."

"With all due respect…" Ruby began, and stopped when Weiss held up one hand.

"Save your breath. You'll need it in time. Remember, for all your flaws, you still managed to make it here, to this point. That says a lot about you, and I am not going to risk losing a talent like you, unless…" Weiss trailed off.

"Unless?" Ruby asked, with a rising sense of dread.

Weiss looked at her in the eye, "I may have only officially joined this company a year ago, but I've spent my whole life growing up in these hallways. I've seen many different kinds of people: people with both the talent and charisma to do great things, arrogant people who thought the world belonged to them and should be thanking them, and many others. I have met some people who had talent and were shy, yet went on to do great things for the company. I've also seen people with talent blow it sky high, never living up to their potential and wasting company resources. Now, this is the first time the two of us have ever met, and your file is simply a list of your accomplishments and successes. However, these transcripts don't ever tell me the full character of the interviewee, which is where you come in."

Weiss leaned back. "I want you to tell me your life story."

The request was so out of left field that Ruby blurted out, "What?"

"You have a problem with what I just said, Miss Rose?"

Ruby realized she had just goofed up badly, and immediately sought to rectify the situation, "N…no, mam! I understand completely."

Weiss made a "go-ahead" motion with her hand, "Then speak."

Ruby took a deep breath, collecting herself and her thoughts. When she had calmed down sufficiently, she began her story.

"I was born and raised in Vale pretty much my whole life. Both my mom and my dad were Hunters, so I never really saw them a lot when I was growing up. Most of my early years, I was brought up by my sister, and when I turned 2, my dad retired from the business and started spending time with us. A few months later, my mom quit too."

"Tell me about your mother." Weiss intervened.

Ruby breathed in deep, "When my mom was still a Huntress, she would disappear for weeks, even months sometimes. As a kid, I hated it when she left. I was only 1 year old, but I knew, somehow, that what Mom was doing was really dangerous, and I feared for the day she would not return. When she quit, I was really happy. It really seemed like we could finally be a family together. My sister and I grew really close to her."

"You use the past tense a lot. What happened?"

"It…it's really painful to think about." Memories that Ruby had long tried to suppress came rushing in.

"Take your time."

Ruby took a while to collect herself, before continuing, "Everything had been going well for so long. We were a happy family, and the threat of death through Hunting wasn't there anymore. Then, when I was 8, my uncle Qrow came around. He said he had a very important mission and needed someone to go with him, but my dad had recently gotten injured after a tree fell on his leg. My mom volunteered to go."

"That conversation between your uncle and your parents, it doesn't sound like something any normal parent would let their kid listen to."

"I'm not exactly the most obedient child around. I overheard their conversation. That night, when my mom thought we were all sleeping, she got out of bed and tried to leave. And she ran into me. I had been waiting just outside the door for her."

"Long story short, it blew up into a really huge argument. In the end, she promised me she would return. I still remember…" Ruby trailed off, sniffling as the memory resurfaced. She wiped at her eyes, before continuing, "I still remember what she said before she left: "I solemnly swear that I will return home, and I will be there when you graduate from school, when you attend your first school dance, when you're walking down the aisle, and I'll be there when you have kids of your own for them to call me grandma.""

There was a moment of silence, then Weiss spoke up, her harsh and cold tone no longer there, "What happened?"

"I…I…" Ruby tried to speak, but the words could not come out. Instead, the tears came streaming down.

Weiss hurriedly pushed a tissue box towards her, "It's ok. It's ok. You don't have to tell me. I can guess what happened." She reassured.

It took a while for Ruby to calm down, after which Weiss said, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Ruby took a moment before continuing her story, "I sank into a really dark period of my life. I blamed my mom for abandoning us, even though deep down, I knew she was simply doing her job. It took me years before I was finally able to accept the fact that my mom was gone, and that I had been unfair for blaming her. That doesn't help relieve the feeling of loss I still feel, but it's still a lot better than how I felt back then."

"Interesting story. It's certainly one I haven't heard before." Weiss remarked, before closing the file.

"I'm afraid that's all the time I have. Thank you for your time, Ruby." Weiss stands up, arm outstretched and Ruby follows suit, reaching out to shake Weiss' hand.

Weiss presses a button at the base of the table, and announces, "Ciel, would you kindly escort Miss Rose out? Thank you." A side door opens, and out steps the same receptionist that buzzed Ruby in.

"It was really nice to know you, Ruby." Weiss comments as Ruby leaves with Ciel. As the door closed behind the duo, Ciel remarked, "Well, I'll take it that your interview went well?"

Ruby doesn't answer for some time. Ciel looks at Ruby, who has a dazed look on her face.

"Miss Rose? Is something the matter?" Ciel enquires.

Ruby seems to snap out of the trance, answering, "No."

As they reach the first floor, Ruby turns to Ciel, "How often does she call anyone by their first name?"

The question catches Ciel off guard for a moment, before she catches on. With a small smile, she replies, "So far, you're the only one I know."

Ruby's face opens into a big smile, "Thanks, Ciel. I'll see you around." She says, before leaving.

"Oh, yes, Ruby Rose. I definitely will." Ciel mutters to herself, as she watches the red-clad teenager leave the building.  
-

 _From the diaries of Weiss Schnee_

 _What is it about Ruby Rose? Why am I so intrigued by this girl?_

 _Who would have known that this innocent-looking girl, who was so nervous she knotted her shoelaces wrong, would end up leaving me with this much…emotion?_

 _Perhaps I was rather harsh on her. After all, she is 17, and this is the first job she would ever have. But Father would never have shown mercy to me if I was in her shoes, and I cannot afford to._

 _I read through all the files of the 7 candidates. They all had won at least some kind of design competition, with the exception of one: Ruby Rose, who instead won 3 fighting tournaments, and not a single design one. So what is she doing applying for weapons design? I had to figure it out._

 _Of course, my harsh demeanour probably held her back from telling me a bit more, but at least I know why she would choose to avoid the life of a Hunter. And it also told me just a bit more about her that might just be enough…_

 _It is at times like these that I wonder if what Father told me was true, for if it were, Miss Rose would never have made it this far. But she did, and I am torn between making the practical choices, and choosing the one girl who managed to break the mask of ice I wear._

 _What is it about this girl that makes me feel so vulnerable and so exposed, yet unashamed? There is something about her, I can feel it._

 _I need to know more._

 _I have made my decision._

 **Well, this took me forever to write, but I really enjoyed writing it! Vale High Chapter 1 should be out by the end of the week, so do look forward to that if you are interested! As always, please read and review, and feel free to leave some suggestions. Don't be afraid to criticise, I want as much critique as possible to make this story better.**

 **A few notes before I end. The last part is something I like to call "Weiss' Diary". Biting The Dust is very WhiteRose and Bumblebee-centric, meaning I'm focusing a lot of character development. I feel that sometimes, I don't give Weiss enough screentime to fully develop her character, but neither am I going to devote one entire chapter to develop one person's character. Weiss' Diary will appear in every chapter Ruby and Weiss appear in, and it will be based solely on Weiss' perspective of certain events that have happened and her feelings. Let me know how you guys feel about that!**

 **Second, the next chapter is very Blake-centric, opening up the Bumblebee part of the story. What I like about writing "Biting The Dust" is that it's a way for me to experiment with new writing styles and chapter distribution, and I especially like what I have coming. Just a heads up for the next chapter!**

 **Anyway, please leave a review or a follow and let's try to reach 5 of either! Thank you all for reading this far, and I will see you all next time! RWBYSanctum out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I posted the first chapter of this story on the site at around 11pm GMT+8, and then when I woke up the next morning around 6.30am, I opened up my story list and saw 2 reviews. An hour later, I opened my profile to see the stats of this story, and it said 2 reviews, 8 favourites and 19 follows.**

 **I know that probably sounds really little, but it was really a shock to me that this story got that many that fast! None of my other stories got this many follows in less than 12 hours, so I want to thank each and every one of you who have helped make this my (currently) most popular story—which I was realize is probably not saying much XD.**

 **Stay cool, people, and I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: You know what to expect. Also, just to warn you guys, there is a scene in this that is rather...disturbing. Younger readers be advised. I will explain the need to have the scene at the end of the chapter.**

Chapter 2

Few companies in the world, regardless of what business they engage in, can say that they have not made a decision that was met with intense controversy, and SDC is no different. While their powerful influence keeps many of their darker secrets from being exposed to the world, there are just some secrets that cannot be hidden.

As the most populous nation and the capital of Remnant, Vale was home to many people of different backgrounds, and like many nations around the world, not all those people are treated equally. In Vale—and in many other parts of Remnant—this marginalised group was the Faunus, humans with characteristics and even certain anatomy of animals. It was not uncommon in Vale to run into people who had cat ears, whiskers, or even tails, and in recent times, the number of Faunus rose to encompass roughly 20% of Vale's population.

The history of the Faunus dates back to when mankind had settled on the Earth. After so many millennia spent in the darkness, the world had evolved to suit the creatures of Grimm, and man struggled to adapt to the environment. The Faunus were thus brought in, as they were seen as descendants of some of the first creatures of Light to exist. They certainly assisted humanity in their growth, their animal instincts and characteristics a great asset for man to adapt and grow. At first, mankind accepted the Faunus, for they assisted the humans greatly, but as time went on, as they often do, humanity became more independent and began pushing the Faunus to the fringes of history, their contribution to mankind almost all but forgotten.

While the Faunus survived on and continued to live on in the world, they were often seen as inferior to man due to their animal-like characteristics, and so began the dark days, where the Faunus endured discrimination and prejudiced, essentially born into subjugation, treated like worthless animals and seen as degenerate, low-life criminals. And though much has changed since then, the Faunus are still treated unequally in many parts of Remnant.

In its early days, the SDC required cheap labour to carry out the dangerous job of Dust mining. In a time where the threat of a Grimm attack was at an all-time high, many humans outright refused to engage in such dangerous work. Desperate, the SDC turned to the Faunus for help, and they willingly agreed.

Over time, as the SDC grew in power and reputation, they continued using the Faunus in their factories and mines. At first, the Faunus were happy. The SDC gave them work and fair working conditions for them, and in return, the Faunus helped to mine the Dust and manufacture weapons designed by the SDC. However, over time, the SDC began to impose many policies on the Faunus workers, and lesser and lesser people were sent to service and repair some of the factories, causing work conditions to deteriorate fast.

On a few occasions, the SDC was called out for their unfair and inhumane treatment on their Faunus workers, and they always said the same thing: that resources would be channelled to the factories to ensure good working conditions would be provided and sustained.

In the 9 long years that Blake Belladonna spent working at the factories, the only change she ever saw was more security.

Like many of the workers at SDC Factory 2525-E, Blake was a legacy worker—that is, her parents worked at the factory during their time. Her parents had both endured long hours of work, often coming home exhausted and hungry. As time went on, their pay started dwindling, either from greedy foremen who docked their pay of illegitimate regions, or sometimes when their foreman "accidentally" forgot to pay them. Despite all this, the two of them had stuck together, their love numbing the pain.

All that changed when Blake was conceived.

It was not something her parents had planned. They knew that any child they bore instantly became a legacy, and the only future the child would have would be as a labourer in the factory. So when Blake was conceived, it was no surprise that her parents knew that things would change.

Slowly, they began to drift apart, Blake's father calling on his wife to abort the baby, and Blake's mother refusing to do so. It was also around this time that a new foreman was installed, by the name of Cardin Winchester. Blake's parents had seen many cruel and sadistic foremen, but Winchester took that to a whole new level. For three months, he worked the Faunus to near-death, and some even died. In her condition, Blake's mother was in no position to work, but she was forced to persevere on under Cardin's threat that he would "slice that devil baby out of her filthy womb" if she missed a day of work on the "pathetic" excuse that she was pregnant.

After three months, Cardin was replaced with a less crazy foreman, but the damage had already been done. By then, Blake's mother was near-death, having been starved so often she looked emaciated. Then, as though Fate was done playing with her, Blake was born two months earlier than expected, and just two weeks after Cardin's replacement. Blake's mother held on throughout the operation, but the toll on her body was too much, and Miriam Belladonna died just hours after Blake's birth.

After that, Blake's father, Andrew, changed. He became a bitter man, hating everything about the world and how it had tormented him, and often he took out his anger on Blake, whom he blamed for his wife's death. Andrew abused Blake physically, often times hitting her to near unconsciousness, and once smashing a beer bottle on her head in a drunken rage. There were days where Blake would just sleep on the streets for fear of her father's wrath.

One day, when Blake was nine, Andrew Belladonna was ordered to join a mine shift after one of the original miners died. Blake stayed at home the whole day, dreading the moment her father would return.

He never did.

It was only the next day that Blake found out that there had been an explosion down in the mines her father was working at. She didn't learn about all the details, but she learnt no one had survived. So, at the tender age of just nine years old, Blake Belladonna was an orphan.

Being a legacy, Blake was immediately targeted by the factory workers. Her young age meant that she couldn't work in the mines, so she was forced to work 10 hours a day to manufacture weapon parts. That number only increased as she grew older, and she also had to endure many forms of discrimination and humiliation.

At the same time Ruby Rose was having her interview at the SDC building, just over 400 miles away, in a secluded wooded area, Blake Belladonna was having the worst time of her life.  
-

The day had started out normally, with a cold bucket of water splashed on her face.

"Wake up, ya miserable pussies! Time's a wastin'!" called a gruff voice.

Above her, she felt the bed shift as her bunkmate groggily got up.

"10 minutes, y'all betta be out and ready to get on da bus! Anyone who's late, and I'll whip ya so hard and bloody y'all won't be able ta move!" The man threatened before slamming the door.

"Melodramatic as always, right?" a voice sounded from above Blake, as a pair of rabbit ears poked out from the bunk.

"Blake?" Velvet Scarletina noticed that her bunkmate was brooding, more so than usual. "What's wrong?"

"It's that time of the year again, Velvet." Blake answered.

Velvet understood, and immediately lowered her voice. "Same plan as always?"

Blake shook her head, "Velvet, you don't have to do this, you know?"

"Hey, in this shithole world we live in, we need all the little pleasures we can get."

Blake sighed, "Fine. But not right now. Tonight."

The duo got out of bed and headed for a quick shower, before pulling on their work clothes and heading out.

The bus ride from the dorm to the factory was short, as it always was. As soon as they got off the bus, they split off into the different areas they were assigned to the day before. For today, Blake was working the laser cutters.

As soon as she stepped off the bus, Blake noticed something off. The guards were looking much more agitated and looked like they wanted to shoot some of the Faunus, just for the fun of it. Blake's curiosity was piqued. What was happening?

"…it's her. She's on the way here."

"Xiao Long? Damn."

Blake's sensitive cat ears picked up on the conversation, and though she couldn't get the rest, she had heard enough. At once, she was filled with a sense of happiness and fear.

Any Faunus who worked at SDC knew the name Yang Xiao Long. To them, those three words were both a godsend and a curse, though the latter was not Yang's fault. Head of security at SDC, Yang sometimes made trips to the factories to inspect the working conditions, which was part of the job description. Unlike others before her, however, Yang was known for her heavy pro-Faunus stance, fighting for the Faunus workers when they were mistreated. Yang wasn't afraid of getting into brawls with some of the foremen if they opposed her, and when she was around, the foremen and the few human workers had to stay on the line and not do anything to harm the Faunus. Unfortunately, it also put the human workers in a foul mood as their main form of entertainment was taken away , and once Yang left, they would take their frustrations out on the Faunus for any small infringement or mistake.

Blake had long ago learned the secret to dealing with the humans: avoid eye contact, just do your job and don't stand out. It had taken her a while to figure it out, but when she did, it made life just a bit more bearable. For the first few hours, the tactic worked. Not once was she picked out by the humans, though she also did do her best to ensure they had nothing to pick on.

It all went wrong just a few hours later.

It happened during lunch hour. Lunch was served, as usual, being rice, baked beans and a few chicken strips. As the Faunus ate, there was a sudden outcry of yelling. Blake instantly knew what was going on, and she felt a shiver go down her spine in fear.

Every once in a while, some Faunus tries to fight against the guards and escape. The guards obviously fight back, often beating the Faunus into submission, then laughing about it before leaving. However, some Faunus had thought it smart to try his luck today of all days, when tensions were already high because of Yang's presence. Blake didn't know what the humans were going to do, but she knew that it could not be any good.

And true enough, there were the sounds that Blake dreaded, the sounds of rounds being fired. Every Faunus immediately got up and ran for cover as the gunshots came closer, but Blake was running in the opposite direction, towards the gunfire.

 _What am I doing? What is going on? Why am I doing this?_ She thought to herself. The thought had come to her to help this Faunus in trouble, and despite her massive reservations, Blake felt drawn to the conflict zone.

Five guards were opening fire on a Monkey Faunus, who was running and leaping between buildings in a bid to avoid the gunfire. Blake hid in an alleyway, then whistled sharply. The high pitch sound was picked up by the Monkey Faunus, and he turned to face her.

Blake gestured to the north, then beckoned him to follow her. At first, he hesistated, but a hail of gunfire knocked some sense into him, and he quickly leapt towards her.

Blake had to act fast. She knew the guards would definitely follow the Monkey Faunus, and if she was with him, they would have no qualms about shooting her too.

"I know a hidden passageway you can take to get out of here. Follow me." She told him, and took off. The monkey Faunus followed closely behind.

"Hey! Stop!" The guards yelled, to no avail, as Blake continued running. She heard a "click" sound, and dodged to the side as a hail of bullets flew past her. She recovered quickly and yelled to the monkey Faunus, "This way!"

The duo ran into one of the abandoned warehouses and shut the door. Blake knew they didn't have much time, so she wasted no time in reaching to the matted floor, patting it down as she looked for what she was looking for.

"In here!" Blake had found it: a small indentation. Ripping the fabric of the mat apart, Blake prised her fingers in the hole and pulled, revealing a trapdoor underneath.

"What about you?" The monkey Faunus asked.

"Don't worry about me." Blake simply replied, as she slammed the trapdoor behind the Faunus. Just as she was covering the door, the front doors to the warehouse burst open, and 6 guards entered, their weapons held in front of them.

"Hands up, animal!" They yelled as they pointed their guns at Blake. Blake willingly raised her arms.

"Search the place. The other Faunus can't be too far from here." One of them commanded, and two guards broke off to search the warehouse. The one who had issued the order stepped forward to meet Blake.

"Where is he?" He spoke through gritted teeth.

Blake coolly stared at him. "Who's him?"

"Don't play games with me. You know exactly who I'm talking about."

"I honestly don't know. I was in here the whole time, and I didn't…"

The blow came from out of nowhere. Blake felt a supernova of pain erupt in her head, and she cried out as she fell to her knees.

"I gave you a chance, scum. You want to continue to lie to me? You think you can deceive me?" He spat at her. Blake would have replied, but the white-hot pain at the side of her head left her unable to speak.

"What's the matter? Kitty got your tongue?" the commander taunted. Blake looked up and growled at him.

"Ah, the kitten speaks. You want to tell me the truth now? Because I've got all day, and I'm not afraid to hit you again."

"You're despicable, hitting a woman." She growled.

Another blow to the side of the head, and this time she had to support herself on her hands.

"You dare? You dare to even compare yourself to a human female, you degenerate? You're not worth the dirt on my shoe." And just to emphasize, he kicked her in the ribs, driving the air out of her.

"It's time you learned your place in this world, kitten. And I think my men would definitely enjoy teaching you that lesson." The commander grinned, and Blake was consumed with fear and horror.

 _No, please, no. No! Especially not today of all days…_ Blake tried to get up, but the commander planted his boot on her back, driving her to the ground.

"Hey boys, looks like we got ourselves some frightened pussycat here. Let's help to drive away that fear." He announced, giving her an evil grin.

"No, please don't…" Blake wheezed out, but the commander ignored her. Blake was hoisted upwards by strong arms, coming face-to-face with the commander. She tried to break free but she was still weak from the assault and anyway, the arms holding her were too strong.

"Gentlemen," the commander drawled, "fire at will."

Blake renewed her attempts to struggle as the men tore at her clothing, laughing at her attempts to break away. Someone reached up to pull the bow covering her cat ears, accidentally stroking one ear.

Under normal circumstances, and on any other day, that would not have done much. But today of all days, Blake's body was more attuned and more sensitive to touch, so as the hand accidentally brushed past her ear, it sent a jolt of pure pleasure through Blake, and she let out in an involuntary moan.

"Ho, commander. I think this one's in heat." One of the officers said.

"Then this lesson shall be all the more effective." He replied.

Time ceased to be for Blake as she descended into a nightmarish world. Pain mixed with pleasure and every action, every touch sent so much emotion and feeling into her. The men weren't gentle, never seeming to care about whether she cried out in pain. They filled every orifice they could, and Blake felt like her body was being torn apart. It was never-ending; when one man finished, another stepped in to take his place. There was a constant flow of tears, but none of the men pitied her. And as the time went on, one thought kept coming to Blake's mind, over the feelings of pain and unwanted pleasure, something that would continue to haunt her much later.

 _I will kill them all. I will kill all the humans._

That thought haunted her nightmares as she drifted into unconsciousness.

When she came to, her body felt rough like sandpaper and she felt horrible. She was lying on a sofa, and as her eyes grew accustomed to the brighter surroundings, she realized she wasn't in her dorm, but an apartment.

It was sparsely decorated, with a few pictures tacked to the wall. Blake caught sight of one of them: a picture of two girls happily playing at the beach together.

When Blake looked closer at the picture, she realized she recognized one of the girls in the picture, and her first thought was:

 _WHAT THE HELL?_

"Glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" A feminine voice sounded from across the room, and Blake turned to face the voice.

Blake instantly recognized Yang Xiao Long.

 _Earlier that day_

"You can do it, Ruby!" Yang cheered as she watched her sister disappear into the SDC building. Watching her younger sister walk through those coveted doors, Yang felt pride blossom in her chest.

 _The little Rose has grown up._

Yang couldn't remember a time when she and Ruby weren't close to each other. When Ruby had been brought home from the hospital, Yang had taken one look at the peace on the baby's face and instantly promised herself she would take care of her sister. Even after her father said that Ruby was technically her step-sister, Yang still continued to shower Ruby with love and care.

This was at a time when Ruby's mother, Summer Rose, was still in the Hunting business, and therefore couldn't spend too much time at home. Yang's own mother, Raven Branwen, had disappeared after Yang was born, and she had grown up without a motherly figure in her life.

Yang remembered those days, and she promised herself that she would never let Ruby grow up without that motherly love. When Summer Rose died, Yang took it upon herself to carry on Summer's legacy.

As they grew up together, the sisters grew inseparable, and Yang began to let Ruby be more independent. Ruby had always been a very shy girl, preferring to train with her weapon than talk to other girls that weren't Yang. Yang always encouraged her to come out of her shell, but Ruby was just too afraid to do that. So Yang chose the next best option: encourage Ruby to develop her talent in fighting.

It had been a happy day when Ruby was accepted into Beacon, an even happier day when she graduated after just 3 years, becoming the youngest-ever graduate from the Academy, and a euphoric day when Ruby was called up for the interview at SDC. And every time Ruby achieved something, Yang's heart went out to her.

"Yang? Yang?"

Yang's thoughts were interrupted by the squawking of the radio on her belt. She pulled it out of her belt and spoke, "Hey, Ren. What's the big boss want this time?"

"Factories 2525-D to G. Routine inspections, nothing more." Ren quoted.

Yang sighed. Inspections were soooooo boring. Nothing much ever happened during those inspections, even though Yang could tell a lot of nasty stuff was happening when she wasn't around.

"Alright, I'm on my way." She spoke, before making her way towards the hangar.  
-

 _That self-pretentious, arrogant little son of a bitch!_

Those were Yang's thoughts as she left 2525-E and was on the carrier towards the next factory, and she was fuming at the commander of the Guards at E Factory.

Roman Torchwick and Yang had never gotten along. Roman had been one of Yang's assessors when Yang was training at the Academy, and the two of them had hated each other from the moment they laid eyes on the other. It didn't help that while Yang was running through the training, Torchwick's niece, Neo Politan, was going through the same training, and Yang was in many ways better than Neo. That certainly didn't help win Torchwick's favour.

Yang had no idea how Torchwick managed to rise up so high, but she made a memo to herself to find out who had that bright idea and shove a fist up his ass.

As always, Torchwick had been extremely hostile towards her throughout the visit, pulling rank and taunting her abilities. Yang had taken the abuse for a while—about 5 minutes—before she had barked back that while Yang was head of security and SDC, Neo was working at the SDC's indoor bistro mopping floors and wearing silly outfits at 5 dollars an hour.

That definitely didn't defuse the situation, and Yang was glad when she was leaving.

Her inspection of factory F went off without too much of a hitch—the commander there, a Jaune Arc, was a nice guy and definitely new to the job. Yang had left with some advice on how to run the factory, and the two had exchanged numbers by the end of her visit.

 _I should definitely ring him up one day when I'm in a mood. Hopefully, his sexual experiences are better than his managing skills._

It was as she was about to enter Factory G that the call came through. There was some shooting going on at Factory E. Yang had wasted no time in backtracking all the way to the factory. By then, the shooting had stopped, but one of the guards, under intense pressure from Yang, told her what had happened and when Torchwick had gone.

She immediately took off for the warehouse, and when she busted the doors down, she saw a scene straight out of a nightmare.

A black haired cat Faunus was surrounded by naked men, and it was obvious from her dazed expression that the Faunus had long ago lost consciousness.

Rage overtook Yang, and she cocked her Ember Celica.

"YOU MONSTERS!" She yelled, as she charged the group.

Of course, Yang couldn't kill any of the guards, but she could at the very least incapacitate them. It felt good when she punched a naked Torchwick right in the face and sent him flying. In less than a minute, there were 6 naked and unconscious men.

Yang relaxed her breathing, before turning her attention to the Faunus girl.

She looked about 18, Yang's age, and was certainly a sight to behold. Yang's sexual orientation swung both ways, so she couldn't help but stare at the unblemished skin of the Faunus. Then common sense took over and she immediately started planning.

She couldn't bring the Faunus to the hospital. She knew most hospitals didn't give a shit about the Faunus, and often the Faunus got substandard treatment. Also, since the Faunus girl's clothes were ripped, it wouldn't look good if Yang brought a naked Faunus all the way from the factory to the hospital.

In the end, she decided the best course of action was to talk to Ruby, and that would involve bringing the Faunus to their house. When Ruby got back, they could discuss the situation.

With that out of the way, Yang ripped a part of the mat to cover the unconscious Faunus, and lifted her up to carry her out. Just as she was leaving, she stopped, placed the Faunus down, took out her scroll and snapped a picture of the naked and unconscious Torchwick. Scrolling through her contacts, she found the one contact she was looking for: a contact labelled "Ice-cream Bitch".

She sent the picture as an attachment, with the quote, "If your body is anything like your uncle's, no wonder you're still single and miserable."

With a little chuckle, she carried the Faunus to the plane.

It was an hour later when Yang reached home. She settled the Faunus girl on the sofa, before checking through her scroll. Earlier, she had texted Ruby after she landed at SDC, but her sister had yet to check in. There was, however, a text from Neo, and Yang burst out laughing as she read it:

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

 _Like to see her try._

With that out of the way, Yang took a look at the Faunus girl, and decided that she needed to find some clothes for her, or the sheer beauty of the girl may probably drive Yang to do something she really didn't want to do.

It took some searching, but eventually Yang found a purple long sleeved shirt and some jeans she had outgrown. It was another struggle to clothe the Faunus, but Yang managed it. **(A/N: The outfit Blake wears is the one she wears in Painting the Town)**

It would probably be a while before she woke up, so Yang decided to catch up on some sleep. Heading to her room, she dove under the covers and immediately fell into a dreamless sleep.

When she woke up, it was already dark out. Checking her scroll, she saw that Ruby had finally replied.

 _Hey, sis. Gonna grab a bite with Penny, so don't wait up! Love ya xoxoxo._

Yang texted back, _No worries! Go enjoy your date!_

She enjoyed teasing her sister like that.

Yang decided to go check on the Faunus girl, so she got up and put a yellow tank top and shorts. As she walked to the living room, she noticed the Faunus girl was awake and was staring at a photo of her and Ruby playing together at the beach.

"Glad to see you're awake." She spoke, and the Faunus turned quickly. "How are you feeling?"

She could see the apprehension in the Faunus' eyes slowly dim and was surprised when the Faunus spoke, "I know who you are. You're Yang Xiao Long."

"Yes…" Suddenly, Yang was on the defensive. Usually people said her name like that when they were itching for a fight. Even though she knew it was unlikely the Faunus would attack her, she had to be cautious.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. It's just, you're really famous amongst the Faunus where I worked at. Sort of like a liberator." The Faunus hastily replied.

Yang relaxed slightly, "A liberator? Well, that's one thing to add to my impressive repertoire of references. "Yang Xiao Long, the First of Her Name, Head of Security, Party Girl and Liberator of Faunus.""

The Faunus girl giggled. "Nice Game of Thrones reference."

"You watched the show? I didn't think those guys at the factory would even give you guys a TV." Yang was a little surprised.

The Faunus girl blushed, "No, I read the books."

Yang's jaw dropped. "You mean to tell me you actually read those 1000 page books?"

"Well…yeah."

Yang was intrigued by this Faunus.

"What's your name?"

"It's Blake. Blake Belladonna." The Faunus girl answered.

"Blake. Pretty name for a pretty girl." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and Yang wished she could punch herself with her Ember Celica.

Blake's face turned scarlet. "Th…Thanks for that."

There was an awkward silence, then Blake broke it.

"I should be getting back to the dorms. My friend Velvet would be worried sick for me."

"Oh no, missy. You are staying here for the night." Yang quickly rebutted. Blake opened her mouth to argue, but Yang interrupted. "Look, what happened to you today was horrible, and if I had my way, I would gut every single one of those guys that did what they did to you. But let's look at the facts here. You can't go back to the dorms. If those guys manage to find you, you're screwed. They'll mess you up way worse than you already are. You wanna go to a hospital? No offence intended, but you're a Faunus. You aren't going to get good service, and the majority of the staff are going to assume you consented to the acts just so they don't have to go through the trouble of giving you a medical examination. I'm not going to send you out onto the streets, so tonight you are staying here, and tomorrow, you, me and Rubes are going to find a way to help you."

Blake considered the facts for a moment, before replying, "Fine. Just let me call Velvet. She'll probably be worried sick."

"No problem. When you're done, you can take a shower and then you take the first room on the right. I'll take the couch for tonight."

"That's not necessary." Blake appreciated the thought, but she didn't want to impose.

"I insist. You're a guest here, so you're getting the full Hotel Yang treatment." Yang insisted. Blake relented.

As Blake left to make the call, Yang begin to wonder how she was going to break the news to Ruby. Just then, her scroll began to ring. Looking at the screen, she saw it was Ruby.

"Oh hey, Rubes. What's…" Yang answered, then frowned as another voice answered from the other side. "Penny? Why are you calling on my sis' phone? Where is she?" A few moments later, Yang asked, "Where are you guys? I'm coming over. Get Ruby ready." She hung up, picked up her car keys, and made her to the garage.  
-

"Velvet, look, everything is fine, alright? I'm just…not coming back to the dorms tonight."

"I can try to cover for you tonight. 'most everyone in the dorm knows what happened to you. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. It's something I can cover tomorrow."

"So just out of curiosity, where are you right now?"

Blake let out a small chuckle. "You will not believe me if I told you."

 **ARGHHH THE PAIN! My wrist hurts…non-stop typing for 2 hours, but so worth it. So some notes here before I cover what I'm pretty sure is some really controversial stuff so let's get right to it. First off, Vale High is probably gonna be delayed by a while because I don't really have an idea for the story. I mean, High School AUs have been done to death that it really isn't that easy for me to come up with a creative angle. That being said, I am enjoying the direction that Biting the Dust is going, so I hope to update a lot more frequently.**

 **Now onto the controversial bit. I'm pretty sure most of you know what happened to Blake in this chapter, and I'm sure a lot of you think that it was unnecessary and pretty graphic. Let me just say that I do not treat rape lightly. It is a heinous act up there with murder and I think it's disgusting. It's always sad when I hear or read about cases of rape, and where I'm from, rape cases are common in nearby countries. It was a painful decision to have Blake get raped, especially since Blake is my fourth favourite character behind Neo, Ruby and Yang, and originally, it wasn't going to be in the chapter. However, as I read through my plan for the entire story, I realize some of Blake's motivation in the later chapters couldn't be explained without something really extreme. I won't spoil too much, but I decided to add the rape scene in because, as I'm sure you just read, Blake's life has really been shitty. It's akin to slavery (and it's that way because I specifically wanted the Faunus to be portrayed akin to slaves, simply because it drives the later story), and I'm sure to some extent, the Blake character in RWBY has been through that kind of shit too. I feel, however, that Blake needed that final push that will end up becoming the catalyst for many actions later on. So I am truly truly sorry if I offended anyone with the rape scene, but at the same time, know that I didn't really have a lot of other options. And also, I tried my best to keep it subtle, showing how much Blake detested it and Yang's over-the-top reaction to the whole scene. I share those sentiments: rape is detestable**

 **I'm sure another question you guys will have is whether the story is going to become M rated. My answer is: no, not unless you guys vehemently request it to be. The reason for it is simple: I don't see a point. I don't plan on writing any lemons in the story—if anything, it will probably be a one-shot—and while sex jokes are common, there aren't any explicit scenes in the story. Even this rape scene was explicitly described because I don't need to describe it in detail, and I don't see a need to. That being said, this story is definitely T, because this is seriously looking to be very dark, and some of the jokes I make are extremely edgy and NSFW for younger audiences.**

 **On a more positive note, I want to thank each and every one of you guys for having taken the time to read this and favourite/follow/review. Writing's always an arduous process and fan support is always needed. Shoutout to my friends Joey, Min Min and Zhen Min, who were some of the first readers of the story and who encouraged me to continue the story (Thanks so much, Min Min!)**

 **Anyways, I hope to update as soon as I can, and I cannot make any promises, but expect the next chapter sometime next week or maybe on the weekends. School's starting to catch up and I can't always afford to burn two hours to type a 6000 word story. Once again, please read and review, favourite and/or follow, and I will see you all in the next chapter! Until then, RWBYSanctum out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Man, you guys are really awesome when it comes to showing support for a story. I haven't had this many favourites and follows since…ever. So thank you guys so much, and especially because of the scenario that happened in the last chapter that I'm pretty sure turned some people away. But I really hope you guys can put all that behind you, because I can promise I don't have a lot of bad stuff that's gonna happen for another chapter or so.**

 **So Chapter 3!**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't own RWBY, probably never will.**

Chapter 3

Ruby Rose was never a social person.

Ever since she was young, Ruby had always been shy and innocent. While she wasn't cold or arrogant, her distant nature made it hard to conserve with people who weren't her sister.

When she was growing up, this hadn't been too much of a problem. She only needed one friend, that being her older sister Yang, who had been there with her since she was born and who hadn't left her side since. The sisters shared a bond that went far beyond sisterhood; they both knew they were all the other had.

That had all changed when Ruby and Yang reached their teenage years. Yang's social nature meant that she picked up friends like Ruby picked up weapons magazines, and slowly Ruby and Yang started spending less time together as Yang started hanging out with her friends more often. Yang often encouraged her sister to find her own friends, and while the topic had often led to arguments between the two, Ruby knew deep down that Yang wasn't trying to push her away; she wanted what was best for Ruby. But that still didn't help the situation.

Ruby's first day at Beacon had been like any freshman's first day at a new school, only much worse. Not only had Yang not been there to back her up since she was sick, but Ruby, who at 14 was younger than most people who entered Beacon, was given so many stares that it was obvious a lot of people wondered why she was there.

Only one person seemed to fit in less than Ruby did: an orange-haired girl who, Ruby noticed, always sat in the same place under the same tree every day, engrossed in her notebook. At first Ruby ignored her, more because she had nothing to say to her.

Then one day, she was walking out of the school after a long day when she heard mean laughter. Curious, she made her way towards the sound.

Under the tree where the girl always sat, there she was, cornered by three guys who loomed menacingly at her. She was cowering in fear, her notebook scattered on the ground, the boys laughing and teasing her.

"Hey!" Ruby yelled. The boys turned to find the source of the sound, and upon seeing Ruby, they fell into gut-busting laughter.

"Oh my, a little rose. Oh what will you do to me?" One boy mocked her in a falsetto voice. Another sneered at her, "Come on, little Red Riding Hood. Try to take us on."

Ruby felt fear rise inside her, but pushed it down. "Come…Come on, I'm not afraid of you!" Ruby stammered out.

"Soon, little girl, you will be." Another one cracked his knuckles.

"No, but you will fear me."

Suddenly, the three boys paled. Turning slowly, they faced the source of the voice: a certain yellow-haired girl with a fiery temper and outlook. They bolted immediately, not wanting to suffer a beatdown from one of Beacon's best fighters.

The girl looked scared, but didn't run. Yang walked up to her.

"Hey, it's alright. Not gonna hurt ya." She smiled, offering a hand to the girl. The girl took it hesitantly, and Yang pulled her up.

"What's your name?"

"P…Penny. Penny Polendina." The girl introduced herself, and it was then that Ruby noticed Penny was staring intently at her. She turned away, her face turning red.

"Nice to meet you, Penny. I'm Yang, and this is my sister Ruby."

"I know who you are. You're that brawler girl. I…I really like seeing you fight." Penny remarked.

"Thanks! Always glad to…" Yang was cut off by her scroll. "Scuse me, gotta take this." She walks away, leaving a very awkward Penny with a very awkward Ruby.

The two stare at each other for a long time, before Ruby bites.

"You wanna grab some coffee?"

And since then, the two of them had been friends—at least, as close to friends as could be. Penny's awkwardness and shyness didn't allow for much socializing at first, but Ruby was able to help bring her out of the shell somewhat. Penny was like a substitute Yang for Ruby; when Yang wasn't around, Ruby hanged out with Penny.

Which is why Ruby found herself drinking in a bar with Penny at 10 pm after her interview at SDC.

It had been Penny's idea. She hailed from Atlas, Vale's sister neighbour and military defender, and had told Ruby that in Atlas, they celebrated good news with a trip to the pub, though Penny herself never enjoyed those trips.

"Look, Penny. We don't have to do this."

"Ruby, you're practically accepted into SDC. That is a definite cause for celebration!" Penny had cheered.

"Penny, there's no guarantee about it. I'll celebrate if I get in, but I don't think now is a great time."

"Come on, Ruby! Don't be a buzzkill! This is your night!" Penny encouraged.

It had taken quite some time to bring Ruby around, but she eventually acquiesces to the request, "Alright. Meet you at the pub at 6?"

"Alright!" Penny cheers, and hangs up.

4 hours later, Ruby is slung over Penny's shoulder, most of her body weight being supported by Penny.

"You really need to stop drinking so much." Penny deadpans.

"You need *hic* to stop *hic* spinning me in circles…" Ruby drawls.

Penny sighs. She should have remembered Ruby had rather low tolerance for alcohol. She could get drunk on 3 mugs of beer. This wasn't the first time it had happened, so Penny reached for Ruby's scroll. She scrolled through to find the contact she was looking for, then dialled the number. After two rings, someone picked up.

"Oh hey Rubes. What's…"

"Yang, it's me, Penny." Penny cut Yang off, getting straight to the point.

"Penny? Why are you calling on my sis' phone?" There was an edge of worry in Yang's tone as she asked, "Where is she?"

"Don't worry, we're fine. It's just Ruby is…well, intoxicated. You know, the standard fare." Penny replied.

There was a static sound in the background, which Penny took to me Yang had sighed loudly, "Where are you guys? I'm coming over. Get Ruby ready."

Penny told her, then hung up. Setting Ruby down near the pub, she took a seat next to her.

"Hey, Penny…" Ruby slurred, "is your world spinning?"

"No, it isn't. Get some rest, Ruby. Yang is coming."

"But I don't want to go to school!" Ruby pouted.

"Ruby, rest." Penny commanded.

"Make me." Ruby tried to stand up, then faceplanted onto the ground.

Penny sighed. _This is going to be a long wait.  
-_

It was another 15 minutes before Yang arrived in her motorcycle, during which time Penny had managed to calm Ruby down sufficiently for the younger girl to relax.

"Yang, I'm so sorry for dragging you out here." Penny started.

"No need to apologize. Ruby lacks control sometimes. Can't blame yourself for that." Yang replied, before approaching Ruby.

"Alright sis, I'm taking you home."

"Yang! Yay, Yang is here!" Ruby cheered drunkenly.

"When we get home, I'm having a serious talk with Qrow about allowing you to drink when you were 14." Yang growled, already preparing the verbal torrent of words she would spew forth against her uncle. Her uncle Qrow was an amazing person, but he had his own eccentricities, and most of them had rubbed onto Ruby.

"Come on, UP!" Yang pulled Ruby upwards, then slung one of her arms around. "Let's…"

"SHINY!" In an instant, Yang's arm was no longer on Ruby's shoulder; all that was left was rose petals. Yang turned to see Ruby on the main road, trying to pick something up on the road.

"RUBY! Get off the road!" Yang yelled, but to no avail as her sister continued to search around.

Just then, there was a loud honking sound. A truck had come from the bend and was coming at a pretty high speed. And Ruby was right in its path. The driver tried to brake, slamming his foot down on the brake pedal, but he had started far too late. A collision was imminent.

Yang noticed this too. She hastily readied her Ember Celica, ready to launch a shotgun blast to push Ruby away…

The sound of the horn seemed to blow some sense into Ruby, and she turned to see 8000 tonnes of metal bearing down on her. The drunkenness seemed to disappear as she stared rooted to the spot, unable to move. She closed her eyes…

When she opened them again, she wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. There was a blue hue to everything, and nothing but her was moving. The truck had stopped just a few inches from her, the driver's face a mask of disbelief. Yang was readying her gauntlets, her body fixed in a position that looked rather cool. All around her, everything wasn't moving.

"Wha…?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby."

She turned around to face a woman clad in sheer white. Weiss Schnee had wanted to make Ruby go blind with the amount of white she wore, but this woman amplified that many times over.

"Yeah?" She replied reservedly.

"Ah Ruby. We have so much to talk about, yet so little time." The woman enigmatically said.

"Ummmm…"

"Ruby, listen to me. I can only be here for a short period of time, or else I might change too much. Listen to me. This is important. Whatever happens in the next two weeks, soldier on. And forgive Blake when you meet her in due time. She…she has her reasons."

"Who are you? What's going on? Who is Blake?" The questions came spilling out of Ruby's mouth.

"You'll find out the answer to the last two questions fairly quickly, but as for the first...can you really not recognize me?"

"No, I don't think I've seen you before." Ruby answered honestly.

The woman frowned unhappily, murmuring to herself. Ruby caught a bit of it: "In time...just…she'll know."

The woman's form began to fizzle.

"I'm out of time. Remember Ruby, no matter what happens, I will always love you." The woman smiles, before her form begins to disappear.

"Wait! Who are you?" Ruby reached out, but the figure had already disappeared.

Ruby suddenly felt a force like a gale force wind around her, as she was pushed off the road just as the truck passed by. Dazed, she looked around to find her savior, but she couldn't see who it was.

"You dolt! You almost got yourself killed!" A voice sounded from behind her. Ruby turned, and came face-to-face with Weiss Schnee.

"Weiss! What are you doing here?" Ruby yelped in surprise.

"That's none of your business. Let me just say that my plans for tonight certainly didn't involve meeting you here, and even less of having to have to rescue you." Weiss glared at her.

"Wait, that gust of wind was you?" Ruby scratched her head in confusion. She had heard about the Schnees having some form of magic Dust power, but she didn't think the powers extended to allowing the Schnees to turn into the elements themselves.

"No, you dolt! I channelled the wind here!" Weiss yells exasperatedly.

"Oh. Well…thanks." Ruby couldn't think of anything better to say at the moment.

Weiss sighed, "No problem. Just try not to be so drunk next time. We have staff parties once every month, and I don't want to have to keep rescuing you from doing something stupid."

"Ummm…ok?" Ruby smiled awkwardly. When the full force of Weiss' words hit her, it was with the force of a tornado. "Wait…"

Weiss smiled inwardly at Ruby's shocked expression, and told her, "You will report punctually to the SDC building at 7am tomorrow. Welcome on board." Weiss left, leaving the red-clad girl staring in awe.

"Ruby!" Ruby vaguely heard Yang's voice, but she definitely felt Yang hugging her, because all the air was driven out from her lungs.

"Ruby! I was so worried for you!"

"Yang…can't…breathe…"

"Oh, sorry!" Yang released her sister, then asked, "So why were you hanging with Weiss Schnee?"

"She's my boss now, so I have to listen to her." Ruby tried her best to be as discrete as she could.

"Um, ok, but I don't see…wait, WHAT?" The realization hit Yang like a cannonball, and she stared at her sister.

"No way. You didn't…" Yang couldn't finish her statements.

"Apparently I am." Ruby replied, "I got accepted into SDC."  
-

 _From the diaries of Weiss Schnee  
_

 _Sometimes, I wonder whether life is making me pay for my father's mistakes._

 _Bad enough Father forced me to sit through the interviews today. Now I was forced into rescuing the one girl who had piqued my interest during the interview._

 _I don't really know if that is coincidence or fate._

 _But does it matter? Maybe it was lucky that I met her today. At least she can go home knowing she made it._

 _Well, Step 1 is done. I've managed to get her here. Now I just need to figure out her proficiency in design. But how?_

… _I think I got it. But I will have to be discrete about it._

 **Ugh, this chapter took me forever to write, and I still feel like it belongs in the trash. This was supposed to be a chapter to kickstart the story, but it's just filler. Ah well, at least I squeezed in a plot point. The woman in the time stop scene: care to make a guess who it is?**

 **I apologize for the crappy writing. I wrote this after 4 days of insufficient sleep (damn you, Chemistry exam!) and I'm way overdue on this chapter, so it's not the best. Next chapter will be much better, I promise. I already have the story planned for it. I'll probably put it up end-April, because I have exams next week and the new Hearthstone expansion releases next week, along with the Khandaq Black Adam challenge on Injustice, so I'll be rather busy! But I promise this won't happen too much!**

 **Before I go, I have a challenge for you guys. I sneaked in a little something in the last chapter. Blake works at factory 2525-E. This isn't a plot point, but just something I put in there for fun. Try to guess what 2525-E means. If you're smart enough to figure it out, congrats! You get a virtual cookie.**

 **Anyways, I also have another story in the works. This one is called Lone Star and it makes this story look like sunshines and rainbows. Why? Because Lone Star is based on Marcus Lutrell's "Lone Survivor", so if you've read it, you know a lot of shit happens to those people who aren't Marcus. I plan to finish it soon, so look out for that!**

 **Also, before you guys start on this, I might as well address it: I am not looking for controversy. I know I write some dark stuff in chapters, and I understand that not everyone is going to like it. However, I write such stuff for a few reasons, the first being it's more realistic and the second being that the sufferings these guys go through are crucial to the story. Blake's rape was not an easy decision to make, but I have the story planned and I'm sorry, but I saw no other way to do it.**

 **Anyways, thank you, please review, favourite or follow, and I will see you all in the definitely better next chapter! (consider this pure filler) Until next time, RWBYSanctum out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Time to step things up a notch.**

 **So one of my friends that I gave this story to commented that while it was good, it seems to be more of an introductory thing and that the main plot hasn't developed yet. Well…yes, it is. I feel like in an AU like this, while the personalities of the characters are predominantly the same, there are some changes that writers make so that the characters are suited for the story. As such, I feel that as a writer, it is my responsibility to explain the changes I made through backstory, so that even those who never watched the show know the characters well enough. The other reason is that I just like to show off. Sue me.**

 **In all seriousness, however, I like fleshed out characters. I feel that the characters need to be the strong point of a story, because you're spending a lot of time with them and the reader needs to know which characters to like and which to hate. I apologize if the story isn't progressing as quickly as you like. Anyways, on to the next chapter!**

Chapter 4

 _From the diaries of Weiss Schnee_

 _If there is one key thing about SDC that I believe makes it unique, it's the sheer size of the complex._

 _Growing up, even I was subjected to the intimidation and anxiety that came with walking these hallowed halls. The company has always been a household name, and with that name came a reputation, a reputation that every employee must do their best to maintain._

 _But you don't get a good reputation by being nice to people. That was a lesson I learned the hard way. I've seen adults break down when they receive their termination notices. I've seen how nervous the interns are, even when they have nothing to lose. I've seen people come and go, one day here, the next gone. As a child, I did not understand this, but I was witnessing just how ruthless the system really was._

 _And I'm divided on this. As the heir to SDC, it is my duty to ensure the company does not lose its good name when I take charge, and I accept that responsibility without hesitation. But I disagree with the extreme ruthlessness Father wields over his employees. It pains me every time to see a young employee being reduced to tears after being terminated simply for being late to work._

 _And I feel it every day, as I walk down the halls that used to intimidate me, and now intimidate the uninitiated and even regulars. I feel it every time I am forced to cut the 6-man list to 1 or 2 every time we have a new batch of people. And I see it in the interviewees' eyes. They fear me. They are intimidated by me. And all this time, I have to put on the façade that I don't care, that I'm a ruthless bitch that will strike down with vengeance if anyone messes with my company._

 _This is the job I have to do. This is the monster the company is turning me into._

 _And every day, I worry that one day that persona will be all I am.  
-_

" _This will be the day we waited for"_

The alarm blared through the tiny room, and the only occupant lay sleeping, oblivious to the loud rock music that blasted throughout.

" _This will be the day we opened up the door"_

"RUBY! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED NOW!" Yang barged through the door and made her way to the alarm source: Ruby's scroll. Turning off the alarm, she pulled the covers off Ruby's body.

The sudden brightness jerked Ruby awake, and she groggily stared at the smiling face of her sister.

"Come on, sleepyhead! It's your big day! Don't want to be late for work!" Yang announced.

"Yang, it's 6.10am. I don't have to be in for…" Ruby was cut off by a yawn, "another 2 hours."

"Yeah, but I have to be in at 7.30, and I am not leaving you to go to work on your own, so you're gonna have to follow me to work."

"But what am I gonna do until work time?" Ruby was getting slightly angry. She just wanted to sleep.

"Well, the bistro's open at 8am, so you can just walk around and then go to the bistro to wait! Now come on, we're gonna be late. Breakfast is on the table." Yang threw some clothes at Ruby, who caught them in midair. Sighing, she pulled herself out of her comfortable bed and went to shower.

5 minutes later, she was out and dressed in a black long-sleeved blouse and a combat skirt. The skirt wasn't exactly ideal for a non-fighting job, but Ruby had grown fond of them during her time at Beacon, and she had quickly grown used to them.

The smell of pancakes wafted through the air, incentivizing Ruby to race down the stairs to the dining table, where upon seeing it, she froze in surprise.

One of the seats at the table was occupied by a black haired teenage stranger. She was wearing a light purple polo shirt and black jeans. Her hair was held in place by a bow at the top of her head.

"Um, Yang?" Ruby called. At the same time, the girl turned to the source of the voice. Upon seeing Ruby, she tensed up slightly.

"Easy, easy. We're amongst friends here." Yang had come out of the kitchen. She was holding two plates of pancakes in ungloved hands and she sent them down on the table with a loud 'clang'.

"Ruby, this is Blake Belladonna. She's..." Yang looked at Blake as though asking something. Blake nodded. It was a small one. "She's a Faunus worker from one of the factories. Blake, this is my younger sister, Ruby."

"Hi." Ruby said, with a smile. She couldn't see how this girl was a Faunus, but it didn't matter; she was a friend of Yang's, and Ruby was always nice to anyone who could befriend her sister.

"Nice to meet you." Blake said in a quiet voice. She turned to Yang, "Thanks for the food, but I think I'll pass on it. I should be heading back…"

"Blake, we talked about this yesterday, and no, you are not going back on your own." Yang cut her off, "I'm not going to just abandon you to Torchwick."

"I can take care of myself." Blake retorted.

"Really? How did that go for you yesterday?" Yang rebutted.

The instant that sentence left her mouth, Yang knew she had gone too far. She quickly tried to remedy the situation.

"Look, Blake…"

"No. You're right, Yang. I'm absolutely worthless in a fight." Blake deadpanned.

"Blake, I'm sorry, but…"

"Hang on, what's going on here? What are you guys arguing about?" Ruby had followed the argument with a growing sense of confusion. Who was Torchwick? What happened to Blake? It must have been something bad for Blake to have such a reaction to Yang's snide remark. Curiosity got the better of her.

"Ruby, this isn't…" Yang started, but Blake cut her off.

"No. Tell her." Blake seemed to have forgotten completely about her previous anger at Yang. "Just sate her curiosity."

"Alright. Ruby, start eating, we're gonna be late soon, and it's quite a story…"

"Wow. Those guys were total douches." Ruby commented after the story.

"They deserve to die horrendously." Yang growled. She had gotten rather agitated as she told the story, as if she was reliving what had happened in her head.

"I'm sorry Blake. It must have been horrible." Ruby piped up.

"Thank you for your concern, Ruby. It does mean a lot to me. And while your sister is rather infuriating, she did rescue me, so I owe her a great debt."

"Anyways, that's why I gotta be at SDC early. I'm helping Blake go back to the factories, then I'm gonna have a word with Torchwick to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again." Yang replied, before sneaking a glance at the clock. The second she saw it, she flipped.

"It's already 7? We need to go now!" Yang leapt from the table and started running around the living room, packing some objects into her bag. Ruby hadn't been told what to bring, so she just brought a notepad and some stationary, along with Crescent Rose. Blake caught sight of the weapon.

"You're a Huntress?"

"Nope, I'm a weapons designer. It's my first day today." Ruby couldn't help but inject some excitement into her voice.

"That sounds nice. Hopefully you do well." Blake meant those words. She had taken a liking to Ruby—the sweet innocence that she packed and the sincerity and kindness in her appealed to Blake. It was always nice to see someone so excited, though Blake herself had never truly known the feeling.

"Thanks. I hope things go well for you, too." Ruby replied.

"Alright girls, come on! We gotta move!" Yang called from the hallway.

As they made their way to the garage, Ruby noticed they weren't walking towards the car, and a sense of dread rushed through her.

 _Oh no, oh no, please no._

"Yang, we missed the car." Ruby asked nervously. Blake picked up on the nervousness and gave her an enquiring eye.

"We're not taking the car, Rubes. We need speed and manoeuvrability." Yang had reached her target, and pulled off the sheet covering it.

 _Oh no. Here we go again._

"Yang, please, can we take the car instead?"

"Sorry, sis. Speed is of the essence." Yang replied, as she tossed a helmet to Ruby and another to Blake.

"Now hop on, girls," Yang revved the engine, and her blazing yellow motorbike roared into life, "it's gonna be a bumpy ride."  
-

Ruby hated the motorbike.

Bought at a garage sale 6 months ago, Yang had repainted and rebuilt the old, broken down bike and had modified it to give it a super sleek appearance and to allow to go faster while making sharper turns. Ruby had been taken on some joyrides by Yang, and every time, Ruby truly thought she was going to die.

To say Yang drove like a speed demon was an understatement. While her sister cared about the traffic rules, she wasn't afraid of breaking them from time to time, and had been pulled over multiple times for speeding. Not only that, but her sister loved to do crazy stunts while driving, swerving in and out and generally having her definition of "fun". Meanwhile, Ruby would always be clutching her sister's waist and holding on for dear life, afraid that a strong draft of wind would rip her arms away from her sister and blow Ruby onto the hard road. While it hadn't happened yet, Ruby was sure it was imminent.

They had parked just outside the compound. Yang chain locked her bike to a pole, then helped grab Ruby and Blake's things.

"Alright, Rubes, gotta move." She gave Ruby a hug. "See you at home later! You can fill me in on your first day."

"Hopefully nothing bad happens." Ruby replied. They broke apart, and Yang and Blake made their way across the carpark.

Alone, Ruby made her way towards the courtyard, staring up in awe at the building.

"Halt!" Ruby suddenly jerked forward, and she realized that she had walked right into the hand of a security guard.

"State your name and business here." He ordered.

"Um…Ruby Rose. I'm a worker here."

"Ruby Rose? Never heard that name before…" He activated his scroll and looked through something. "Definitely not a worker here." The security guard was suddenly on high alert. "Nice try, kiddo. Either give me a real reason or get out of here."

"Today's my first day here." Ruby was baffled. This was unexpected. "I was hired by Weiss Schnee…"

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, I wouldn't be in this post. Look, kiddo, you look really young, and I'm in a good mood today, so scram before I lose my temper." The guard laughed.

"But I was asked by Weiss Schnee!" As Ruby said this, she swung her arms up in frustration, and her right arm made contact with something. There was a cry of pain, and Ruby turned.

And found herself face to face with a glaring Weiss Schnee, her hands covering her nose where Ruby had accidentally hit her.

Ruby was mortified, and tried to apologize, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were there, Weiss…"

"Don't call me that. You don't deserve to call me that." was Weiss' cold reply. "That name is only for my friends, and you, Miss Rose, are far from that."

Ruby was stunned. She was just trying to apologize.

"Miss Schnee, do you know this girl? Claims to have been hired by you." The guard piped up.

"Unfortunately, yes. I did hire her. I'll update the system later." Weiss replied.

"Alright then." Without hesitation, he opened the gate for both ladies. Weiss immediately brisk-walked through the gates, leaving Ruby behind with the guard.

Ruby just stared at the vanishing figure, wondering what the hell she had done wrong.

"You're new here, so I'll give you some advice." Ruby was brought back to the present by the guard talking to her.

"Sorry, what?"

"You're new here, so I'll give you some advice. Don't look weak. It gives them a reason to doubt you, and if they doubt you, you won't be around here for long. You make a mistake, make sure it's a minor one, and always apologize just once. Anything excessive is a sign of weakness. And lastly, and most importantly, do not piss off Weiss Schnee."

"I think the last one is already happening." Ruby responded.

"Believe me," the guard said cryptically, "if she was pissed off, you would have known it."

That was enough to send waves of fear crashing over Ruby, but she forced the feelings down. "Thanks for the advice."

"Welcome to SDC." The guard opened the gate and let her in.

 _Welcome indeed._ Ruby thought as she walked through. _Well, if this day turns out as bad as it already has, at least I'll have one hell of story to tell Yang tonight.  
-_

Weiss knew she had rushed into the decision, and she just hoped the gamble would pay off.

 _It was always going to be a risk with her._ She thought as she looked through Ruby's profile on her scroll. She had managed to get more transcripts from her schools, and was trawling through the information as she walked towards her office

What she saw interested her. Almost every school she had gone to was primarily combat-based. They had some design courses, but the majority of the curriculum was on learning to fight.

 _What is a girl like her doing in weapons design? Shouldn't she be a Huntress?_

Weiss had known that she needed to learn more about this girl, and perhaps that want to know had clouded her judgement. Only time would tell if this was the right decision.

As Weiss made her way towards her office, she couldn't help but flash back to just a few minutes before, just outside the gate, when Ruby had accidentally hit her in the nose. She thought to when she had coldly snapped at Ruby, and she cringed as she saw the hurt expression on the girl's face.

 _You made the right call. She needs to know you are the boss. You aren't her friend._ The ruthless part, the part cultivated in her by her father, spoke.

 _Really? Even if you can't treat her overly nice, there was no reason to snap at her like that._ Her emotions responded.

Weiss sighed, trying to force both voices down. It pained her to have done what she did, but she knew it was unavoidable. Ruby had to know that things were going to change rapidly, and she had to get used to it fast.

As she sat at her desk, she turned towards the matter at hand. She had spent the night coming up with a plan, a plan to push Ruby Rose to see just how far she could go. Now she read through it, thinking of different possibilities and modifying the plan as the needs suited.

By the time she was done, it was 9am.

Time to put the plan in action.  
-

"Ruby Rose, please report to Weiss Schnee's office immediately." The announcement over the intercom startled Ruby, and she quickly packed her things and made her way to the receptionist area.

"Excuse me? Can you tell me…" Ruby started to ask the receptionist for directions, before she noticed who she was talking to.

"Ahh, Miss Rose. We meet again." Ciel smiled at her, and stood up from her seat, "I'll escort you to Miss Schnee's office immediately."

Ruby followed her into an elevator, and Ciel pressed the button for the 18th floor.

"It's good to see you again, Ruby." Ciel told her.

"Likewise, Ciel. Didn't think I'll be back here." Ruby replied.

"I hoped you would return. I'm glad you did. You have a lot of potential and you're getting the best development you can get here."

"Let's just hope I last long enough to continue." Ruby deadpanned.

The lift stopped and the doors opened. Ciel led her through a corridor of office rooms, stopping at a door that read 9347.

Ciel knocked on the door, and after 3 seconds, she spoke.

"Miss Schnee? Miss Rose is here to see you as per your request." Ciel announced.

"Let her in," came the reply. Ciel opened the door, and Ruby stepped in.

The office wasn't as big as the interview room she had been in, but it still gave Ruby a sense of vertigo. Seated at the giant mahogany table in the centre of the room was Weiss.

"Thank you, Ciel. That will be all." She thanked the receptionist, and Ciel nodded, closing the door.

"Have a seat, Miss Rose." Weiss gestured to a seat. Ruby hesitated, then followed through and sat.

Weiss leaned in. "Firstly, I want to apologize for what I did this morning. I acknowledge it was an accident and I overreacted. I apologize for that."

Ruby hadn't been expecting that, but her heart, which had been beating with trepidation, relaxed slightly.

"On to the present, however, there is something I require of you to do. But before that, I will lay down some rules that I expect you to follow to the letter."

"First, whatever work you do here is not to be shared with anyone unless given permission to do so by me or a higher-up. This is to prevent leaks of information that might cause harm to this company."

"Second, I expect you to give me your 100% at all times. When you submit a piece of work to me, I expect to see a lot of effort. I will not tolerate any slip-shod work."

"Third, adhere to all deadlines that I set. This is my own personal rule for my workers. I'm a very busy woman, and I have no time for late work. If you submit work late, it will be penalized in one way or another. On the topic of punctuality, I expect you to be early to work every day."

"Finally, you will do what I say, when I say. You will obey your superiors and you follow their instructions to the letter."

Throughout this time, Ruby had just sat there, drinking it all in. Weiss decided it was time to carry out her plan.

"Before you begin your shift today, Miss Rose, there is something I will require of you. Consider this an initiation challenge." She slid a piece of paper to Ruby, who picked up gingerly and began to read.

"We've been looking into the development of a new weapon. We want it to be completely portable and every part of it—sheath, blade or end, ballistics—to be useful in combat. It seems a waste when Huntsmen and Huntresses never think of using their weapon sheaths in battle, seeing as it could be a useful tool, wouldn't you say?"

Personally, Ruby thought it was rubbish. Who would use a weapon sheath to fight? The weapon was always tougher than the sheath, so it made zero sense to use a sheath. Why was Weiss going on about this?

"I challenge you to come up with a viable design. I want it in two days' time. If it's viable, you'll get a reward. If not…well, you better not fail."

"So what you're saying is, you want me to come up with a new weapon to design in two days." Ruby summarized. _Yep, this day is turning out so well._

"No, I don't want you to come up with just a design. I want you to give me a working prototype."

 _Yep, this day is sooo good._

"How in the world am I supposed to do that?" Ruby blurted out.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Figure it out. You were smart enough to graduate from Beacon at a younger age than I was, so you're definitely smart enough to figure out a design."

Ruby seethed. While she had known Weiss was a cold-hearted bitch—hence the nickname "Ice Queen"—she hadn't expected her to be such a bitch on her first day.

"You can wander around, talk to some of the other developers, and you'll have your own office to design the weapon. When you're done, you have full access to the lab to build it. Any questions?" Weiss asked.

"None, Miss Schnee."

"Then we're done here." Weiss turned away from her and focused on her desktop computer.

Ruby stood up and made her way to the door. As she was about to leave, she turned back to face Weiss.

"I didn't know you were so self-centred." She said.

Weiss paused, then looked up, a glint of curiosity in her eyes. "Oh? Do go on. Show me how self-centred I am."

"The fact is, your door is the unique door on this floor because it doesn't have the number 18 in front of it. When Ciel was leading me here, I noticed that every other door number has 18 as a prefix, but yours doesn't. It starts with 93."

"I fail to see the self-centredness in that. I simply want to be easily identified for convenience."

"That doesn't explain why you not only had to make your door stand out, but you also put your name on it. I would have thought being the only door without 18 would have sufficed."

"My name?" Weiss looked baffled, but Ruby wasn't fooled. She had spent too much time with girls who acted just like Weiss, giving an innocent look when they just had pranked her. It was time to turn the tables on Weiss.

"9347. W-E-I-S. Probably didn't want a 5th number to give away the game, but it's still close enough for me to determine what you're talking about." Ruby reported.

There was an long pause of silence that was broken by Weiss' slow clapping.

"Bravo." She said with a smile. "You did well. You're the first person to have figured it out. And it's not because I'm self-centred that I put my name on the door, but I'll keep that reason to myself. And as a reward, you don't have to make the weapon. Just make a viable design and submit it to me in two days."

It was the most emotion Ruby had seen in Weiss in the two days she had seen her, and she awkwardly said, "Um, thanks, Miss Schnee."

"No need for that, Miss Ro—Ruby." Weiss replied. "It's Weiss."  
-

 _From the diaries of Weiss Schnee_

 _Who is Ruby Rose?_

 _Who is this girl that is so bone-chillingly observant she saw through my little game?_

 _What is it about her that makes me question myself, makes me go against everything Father taught me? More than that, why does it feel so good to break free?_

 _Why does it feel so good to be around her?_

 _I must watch her carefully._

 **Ok, this chapter was kinda a doozy for me. I have so many plans to continue the Ruby/Weiss part, but I feel like progressing extremely slowly. It's funny, really, Chapter 5, which is Yang/Blake is gonna throw a lot of shit at the wall, at least according to my plan. However, I've seen how that turns out, so it could be a filler chapter.**

 **Also, I'll just address this here. I am not an action writer. Maybe you can sort of tell from the chapters but I'm pretty bad at it. I prefer to develop the story much more than fight. That being said, I do have fight scenes planned for the story, so there's that.**

 **Also, just a bit of a warning to Blake fans: some serious shit is going to happen to her. I know a lot of you guys will be really pissed, but know that there is a reason for it that I will explain later on in the story.**

 **Anyways, thanks for all the support, guys! 54 followers and 28 favourites so far. This is by far the most popular story I've had, and I'm thankful to all of you guys who've taken the time to read this. Please read, review, favourite and/or follow, and please check out my other stories! Until next time, RWBYSanctum out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm gonna get so much hate for this chapter. Fair warning.**

Chapter 5

Blake couldn't decide what was worse: going back and facing down that monster Torchwick, or listening to Yang trying to sing and utterly failing at it.

The cruiser floated silently through the skies, cutting through clouds as it made its way towards the forests just outside the city boundaries. Unfortunately, the tranquillity outside the cruiser was not matched inside of it, as heavy rock music blared through and Yang's accompanying vocals cut through and irritated Blake's sensitive ears.

 _That you're not not not gonna get any better,_

 _You won't won't won't, You won't get rid of me never._

As if the repetitive lyrics weren't annoying enough, the original singer—an "Avril Lavigne", according to Yang—apparently had really high pitches that Yang was unfortunately trying and failing to emulate. Miserably failing at it.

"Yang." Blake called through the music. Yang ignored her, continuing to sing.

"Yang!" Blake yelled louder, hoping to catch her attention.

"YANG!" Blake screamed, and Yang turned her head to see Blake glaring at her.

"WHAT?" Yang boomed through the loud music.

"COULD YOU TU-" Blake's voice caught, her voice unaccustomed to the screaming. Instead she pointed at the radio and made a motion by turning her wrists.

"OHHHH." Yang reached forward and lowered the volume on the stereo.

"Thank you. My ears couldn't take that noise." Blake said, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Noise?! Avril Lavigne is awesome!" Yang defended.

"Maybe to you. She sounds like a dying whale to me."

"Well, who do you like then? I've got…" Yang reached for her scroll and looked at it for a moment. "…348 songs on it."

"Well…my mom used to like George Michael a lot, though I don't know why."

"Well, lucky for you, I've got one of his songs. Maybe we can try it out." Yang plugged in her scroll to the mini speaker, selecting the song.

It opened with a soothing saxophone solo, and Blake instinctively relaxed. She hadn't heard much music, but the ones she had heard were soft melodious tunes that always put her to sleep, and it was much better than the heavy rock music she knew Yang liked.

As an equally soothing voice played over the music, Blake looked over to Yang. She was unusually quiet for someone who usually had an opinion on every song she had played.

"Something wrong, Yang?" Blake asked.

"No, nothing. It's just…our mom used to play this song to us to put us to sleep. She loved it, even if it drove my dad nuts. I just…This song just reminded me of her." Yang spoke. It wasn't in her usual loud and enthusiastic tone, but it was more subdued, more emotional.

"I'm sorry about your…"

"Don't say that." Yang suddenly flared up, catching Blake by surprise. "You don't know. You don't know how it feels. I spent 16 years growing up with people saying this to me, when all of them still had their mothers around. Some were real, most were teasing, just used as something to try to wear me down, to piss me off. All of them have no idea what it feels like, to grow up without a mom, and having to take care of your younger baby sister when you were only 4."

"And you shouldn't make assumptions about people." Blake retorted. "My mom died giving birth to me. Prior to that, she took a lot of abuse from my dad, who never wanted me in the first place. You ever grow up being called "Mommy Killer"? And while being a Faunus? From the day I was born, I was already labelled, branded as a murderer, a curse. My father wanted to split my name to Bella Donna, because he felt like I was poison to be around. Even amongst my fellow Faunus, I was treated like shit. I was bullied, I was assaulted, and I had days where I just wish someone would kill me, to end it all."

Silence filled the air, permeated only by the voice of George Michael. "The only reason I knew she liked this song was because my dad constantly played it, trying to remind himself of her. It was the only beautiful thing in my hell of a life." Blake continued.

"Jesus, Blake. That's…" Yang trailed off. For once, she had nothing to say. She looked at this girl with newfound respect.

"You know, Blake, you're something new, something unique. I know lots of people who would crumble under a fraction of what you suffered. The fact you lived through all that and are still going strong…it's kinda heroic, and you should be proud of it."

"I'm no hero. I'm a Faunus. Faunus aren't heroes, they're always the villains in the fairy tales. Thanks for that compliment, Yang, but forgive me if I don't take it to heart."

"You're not a villain, Blake. None of you are. Torchwick is a villain. You're just misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?!" Blake bellowed, and Yang yelped in surprise. "Misunderstood?! My people have suffered under you humans for so long, even though you were the ones who always needed the help and bailed you guys out. And how are we rewarded? By being herded as cattle and forced to slave away for you humans, being treated like literal animals, and being demonized so that future generations of humans continue the trend."

"Blake…"

"No, Yang. Admit it. You might be an exception, maybe Ruby too, but how many humans share your sentiments, your kindness to Faunus? We aren't misunderstood, we're demonized. There's a huge difference."

Once again, silence permeated the air, and this time the last of George Michael's voice faded into the distance. Yang switched off the speaker and looked straight ahead, trying her best not to look at Blake, consumed by her own thoughts.

"Cruiser SC—24, please state your business." A voice cut through the intercom and Yang's thoughts, and she responded, "Security detail Yang Xiao Long here, requesting to land."

"Yang! What are you doing here?" The voice changed to a female tone, slightly digitized but Yang recognized it anywhere.

"Hey Pyrrha! Gotta talk to Torchwick. He in?"

"Let me check…" There was a rustling noise that sounded like static, then the voice came on, "Yep, he checked in just a few minutes ago. What's that creep done now?"

"That's a story for another day, Pyrrha, and I promise it's a good one."

"Oh yeah, like your "good story" about Neo trying to poke your eye out because you said you were more "top-heavy" than she was?" There was a joking tone in her voice.

"Hey, she did! And it was a good story!" Yang defended, and despite it all, Blake suppressed a giggle.

"Anyways, docking bay 2 is open. You can land there."

"Thanks Pyrrha. Drinks at 10 tonight?"

"I get off at around 9, so sure! Want me to invite Nora? Or Ruby?"

"God, no, Ruby's already had enough yesterday. I'm pretty sure she'll come home and just go right to bed."

"Next time then. And we'll increase that low tolerance of hers."

"You better not, Nikos. I don't need Ruby acting crazier because she drank more than 3 mugs of beer." Yang jokingly warned.

"Whatever. See you around!" Pyrrha responded.

Yang floated to right above the docking bay, and gently landed the cruiser. She had to be careful; she had dented three other cruisers going down too fast and she didn't want another docked pay.

"Come on, Blake." She called out, and Blake followed her out of the cruiser.

Standing just outside the plane was Torchwick. The last time Blake had seen him, he had been the one to initiate the…Blake tried to suppress the rising memories of that nightmare. She just remembered she couldn't remember another face that filled her with so much loathing.

That face was now slightly bandaged on one side. He had a swollen eye and his right arm was in a cast. He was wearing a metal brace on his leg, so Blake could only imagine what Yang had done to it.

"Well, looks like the kitty cat has returned. How's the pussy feeling?" Torchwick taunted.

"Can it, Roman, or I'm gonna get mad. How would you like the other half of your face smashed in?" Yang cracked her knuckles.

"Easy, Blondie. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't harm the little pussy here." Torchwick grinned.

"You call her that one more time, I'll break your other arm. Don't think Neo would like that since I'm pretty sure that's the only part of you she likes. She still sharing a bed with you?"

Torchwick's grin dropped, replaced by an ugly snarl. "Your insinuations won't affect me. Tell me why you called me here, and don't waste my time."

"You and your men are in no condition to fight me even if I did." Yang pointed out, and Torchwick snarled more.

"But let's cut to the chase. I've got some incriminating evidence against you, Roman, and I would hate to use it against you. No, actually, I won't bullshit you. I would love to use it to end you. You're a despicable human…"

"Thank you, I try." Roman bowed to her in mock respect. Yang's eyes furrowed.

"But I'm a nice girl, so I'm giving you this chance." So saying, she picked up the man by his collar, lifting him off the ground.

"I hear about another case of you bullying another Faunus in any way—discrimination, rape, killing—and I can guarantee you will rue the day you messed with me. You got that? Not. One. Case."

"And you think you can stop me? Please, Blondie, you won't be able to completely defend this place. I'll slip through your deal."

"You may be slippery, Roman, but I've got leverage. And not just that evidence."

Torchwick's face contorted into fury. "If you touch Neo in any way…"

"Don't touch the Faunus, Neo remains unharmed. Simple as that. Do we have a deal?"

There was a moment of silence, then Torchwick gritted his teeth.

"Fine." He said. Yang dropped him unceremoniously.

"Blake?" She called out. The Faunus girl turned to look at her. "A quick word."

Blake walked over to her.

"I don't trust him to keep his word, so just in case he tries something, you're gonna need this." Yang slipped something into Blake's hand. Gazing down, she saw it was a dagger.

"Yang, I can't take this. If they catch me…"

"If the guards catch you, tell them Yang Xiao Long gave that to you. They'll back down."

"And if they don't?"

"Blake." Yang stared intently at her. "They. Will. Back. Down."

Blake decided not to pursue the matter. Instead she sheathed the knife and hid it in her stocking.

"Thanks for everything, Yang."

'Hope everything works out for you, Blake. Anything happens, you can always give me a call."

They shook hands, then Yang pulled her in and hugged Blake. The sudden motion caused Blake to yelp in surprise, and she awkwardly hugged back.

"Stay safe." Yang whispered, before breaking away. She walked aboard the cruiser, turning one last time to wave to Blake. Blake hesitated, then waved back.

The cruiser lifted, staying clear of the bay doors, before flying off, leaving Blake with a furious Torchwick.

"You Faunus scum."

Blake slowly turned to face Torchwick, who had crawled into a crouching position and was glaring at her with intense hate.

"You think this is over? This is just the beginning. You have made a dangerous enemy, Belladonna." He snarled.

"You don't scare me, Torchwick." Blake replied monotonously.

"Oh, I will. You just wait. You just wait, Belladonna."

"This conversation is over." Blake turned away and walked out of the hangar, towards her dorm.  
-

Life turns on a dime. And Blake Belladonna's dime was about to fall.

Just after Blake had returned to the dorms and explained everything to Velvet, who had come close to driving her to unconsciousness with an intense bear hug, they were told to report to work, with the exception of Blake, who the foreman stated was exempt from work "under special conditions."

"You lucky cat. You get to skiv off work." Velvet complained to her.

"Hey, I got raped last night. I think some rest." It hurt to mention, but Blake knew she had to start acknowledging what had happened to her. It was the only way to recover.

"So maybe I should just walk up to Torchwick and get him to bang me? Maybe then I can skip work too." Velvet joked.

"Believe me, Torchwick isn't worth it." Blake said, and they both giggled. It felt weird, but strangely liberating to Blake.

"See you tonight, okay? Don't do anything stupid!" Velvet hugged her, before leaving the dorm.

"I won't, don't worry."

Little did Blake know that would be the last time she would ever see Velvet.  
-

 _How did I end up here? That's the question I'm always asked, and to which I can always have multiple answers to. I've answered that question so many times that even know the lies and the truth have intermixed._

 _It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason, but I can at least determine the trigger. It all started with a rabbit, but no ordinary rabbit. No, this rabbit was a sweet, innocent girl who, because of me, ended up never getting the good life she deserved. This rabbit was a girl who deserved much more than what she got, but she always took it in her stride, never complaining._

 _This rabbit was my dear friend, Velvet Scarletina. This is the story of that rabbit. This is the story how I got here._

 _This is the story of how she died.  
-_

A cold sweat breaks as Blake jolts awake, panting heavily. The nightmare that plagued her sleep wasn't a reality, though it had just happened a few hours ago.

Still sweating and panting, Blake makes her way through the empty dorm to the shower room, where she lets the cold water of the shower pour over her, as if washing away the demons that plagued her every waking step.

As she towels off her damp hair, she catches a glimpse of the clock. 10pm. Her brow furrows.

 _That's weird. Wouldn't everyone be back by now?_

She puts the towel down and gets dressed, making her way out of the bathroom and towards the front courtyard. There isn't a bus, and there are no Faunus workers around, like there usually are.

 _What's going on? Did something happen at the factory?_

Frantic with worry, she reaches for her scroll and dials Velvet.

 _Hey there. It's Velvet. I'm probably busy working or sleeping, so please a message after the beep._

"Damnit Velvet, pick up!" Blake mutters to herself as she dials the number again, even though she knows that if Velvet was working she wouldn't pick it up. She reaches the dial tone again, and Blake hangs up in a huff. Instead she dials another one of her contacts. After three rings, someone picks up.

"Neon? Where are you…?" Blake is cut off by a weird crackling sound. It sounds like…like crying.

"Neon? What's happened?" Blake's voice is now covered in worry.

"Blake…oh, Blake…it's…it's…" Neon's voice croaks.

"Neon, what's happening? Did something go wrong?"

"Blake…Velvet…she…"

At the mere mention of Velvet's name, Blake nearly dropped the phone. She held on firmly, forcing her voice to stay calm as she asked, "Where's Velvet?"

"Blake…I think it's better…if you see it yourself." Is Neon's only response before she hangs up.

"Neon? Neon!" Blake yells, to no avail.

Seconds later, a picture comes in. Tapping at it frantically, Blake instantly regrets her rash decision.

It's a picture of a corpse, it's body broken and its limb splayed in weird angles. Pieces of the body are torn away, revealing bone and tissue, and where the head should have been was nothing but empty space.

But for all the disgust that Blake feels, it's what is in the top left corner that makes her fall to her knees, her scroll finally slipping out of her hand, the glass cracking as it hits the floor.

Velvet's head lies bound by a rope, swinging in the wind as it's suspended on a flagpole. Underneath where her neck should have been is a piece of butcher paper, with chilling words.

"This is what happens when you defy us." Written in blood red ink, no less.

Part of Blake wishes that this is all a nightmare, that she will wake up in her bed, with Velvet poking her head out from underneath and asking if she was fine. But realistically, Blake knows this isn't the case, that this isn't a dream, but a real, living nightmare. Worse, Blake knows exactly why it happened.

"Torchwick." She spat out the word. _This is my fault. I brought this on Velvet. And Torchwick delivered._

The scream Blake lets out is filled with anguish, with anger, with sadness as she screams to the heavens, lamenting the loss of her dearest friend, her dear friend Velvet, who had been there when she was in pain, who had been the only one to care when she went missing last night, who had always taken care of her when she was sick or in heat, and who certainly did not deserve this brutal death. It's filled with loss, of heartbreak, and Blake screams till her voice goes hoarse, she's choking on her cough, but oh, how she continues to scream, as if she can raise Velvet's spirit again…

When Blake finally stops screaming, only then do the tears fall. And with it, something else falls.

 _Humans. They're all the same. I told Yang, I told her, and I was right. EVERY FUCKING LAST ONE OF THEM IS THE SAME._ _Brutal. Cruel. Sadistic._

 _Let's see how they like it when the tables are turned.  
-_

 _When I look back, I think it was that day. It was that precise moment where I realized that no matter what, no matter how much we tried, we were never going to be treated equal. And I think it was that moment that something snapped in me._

 _Compassion._

 _My compassion had caused the death of Velvet. Who is next? Neon? Sun? Neptune?_

 _No. No one else is going to die because of me. Except the ones who did this._

 _That moment was the point of no return, the point where I embraced the darkness in me, the hate molding me into who I am today._

 _Because on that day, as Velvet Scarletina died, so did Blake Belladonna._

 _And I haven't looked back ever since.  
-_

The rec room was sparsely decorated, but it perfectly suited Roman Torchwick. When he wanted to unwind, all he needed was to sit on the comfortable sofa in the middle of the room and just watch some TV with a bottle of scotch in his hands.

Tonight, however, was something different. Somehow, nothing interested him on TV, and the scotch tasted horrible, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Roman ignored all this, his mind only focused on one thing: Blake Belladonna.

The little skank had been much more trouble than he had imagined, and he hated to lose the way he did. He had to find a way to get at her, but in a manner that wouldn't attract that pesky Blondie back. His mind buzzed with possibilities as he devised schemes to indirectly affect her. Well, more than he had already done today. Hopefully, those Faunus would have a great story to tell Belladonna.

As he laid back on the sofa, he felt something cold and metallic rest on his hand.

"You move, you're dead." Came a voice that Torchwick had come to loathe.

"Belladonna." Torchwick said without turning his head. "I see you managed to get a weapon. You realize I'll have to report you…"

The knife pressed harder against his head, pricking his skin slightly.

"Shut up. By tonight, you won't be reporting anyone anymore."

There was silence. Roman felt the small tendrils of fear rise up, but he forced them down. His mother had taught him that you could charm your way out of anything if you stayed calm and sweet talked someone, and Roman put that to the test.

"Listen Blake, maybe we can…"

He felt something smash into his head, and he winced in pain, but he didn't cry out. That was a sign of weakness.

"Don't call me Blake. You don't have that privilege. And I am not here to discuss matters with you."

A force of motion turned him towards his side, and he came face to face with a blazing Blake Belladonna. He could see the anger in her eyes, and it scared him. This wasn't Blake Belladonna. This was someone else, someone out for blood.

"I'm here to exact vengeance."

Torchwick opened his mouth to say something. In that same instant, his brain registered, in the last seconds of his life, the knife going right through his skull, piercing through his brain. Roman never said anything, his nerves incapable of transmitting those signals to his mouth.

"You deserve far worse than that, murderer." Blake said, as she pushed the handle of the knife downwards, driving the blade upwards and cutting through Torchwick's head like paper. With a flourish, the knife had become a small finger pistol, and without hesitation, without even aiming, Blake fired at his head.

Torchwick's head exploded outwards, the bullet drilling through his head and the force blowing it apart. The body of Torchwick sat upright for a moment, then toppled over.

Blake stared emotionlessly at the body of the man who had created so much hell for her. After a while, she flipped the pistol back to knife form and cleaned the blood off her clothes.

"Very impressive." The voice sounded out of nowhere, but Blake didn't jump. She had been expecting it.

"So, did I pass?" She simply asked.

"With flying colours. I must say, you really impressed me. I didn't think you would have the nerve to do it." The voice responded.

"He's a monster. He deserved that."

"Think carefully about this Blake. Are you absolutely sure you want in on this? Because you're in, once you make that decision to come with me, you cannot reverse it."

Blake contemplated the answer for all of 5 seconds.

"Yes. I am absolutely sure."

The man smiled as he stepped from the shadows. Clad in black, and wearing a Grimm mask, he was an imposing person. He clapped a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Then welcome, Blake Belladonna, to the White Fang." He announced.

Blake looked up at him without emotion. "Thank you, sir."

"Please, call me Adam. Everyone does. Calling someone sir is so human." He leaned forward, his mouth next to her ear.

"You have a lot to learn."

"And I will learn fast, Adam." She promised.

"Hey! You aren't allowed up—" A guard had come up the stairs and seen the duo, and though he hadn't seen the body of Torchwick, he knew something was wrong. But before he could continue or raise the alarm, a glint of silver flashed, and a few seconds later, he was falling to the floor, a silver knife stuck in his throat.

Blake walked over and pulled out the knife, cleaning it on the guard's body. Adam walked over.

"We have to move. Now. Try to keep up." He said, as he leapt skyward.

"No." Adam looked to the side to see Blake soaring higher than him. "You keep up."

As he ran side by side with Blake through the factory's towers, he smiled to himself.

 _Blake Belladonna, you are an interesting character. I would love…to get to know you better.  
-_

 _Do I regret my decision?_

 _No. Not in the slightest._

 _Perhaps one might argue I'm flawed. Not all humans are like Torchwick. Not all of them are monsters._

 _To which I say, that is flawed. All humans are like Torchwick. They carry within them that same cruel streak, that fear of losing out that drives them to attacking us so that they feel more secure._

 _And I'm tired of it all. I'm tired of being pushed around._

 _Torchwick was just the beginning. There have been more. And there will be more._

 _My name is Blake Belladonna. I am a phoenix, reborn from the ashes of Blake Belladonna. I am humanity's worst nightmare: an uncontrollable force of nature that will destroy anyone who threatens my people._

 _We are the White Fang. And we will destroy humanity._

 _Trust me on this.  
-_

 **WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH! Look guys, I know I'm gonna get lots of hate for this, and no matter what explanation I give, someone's gonna get pissed off. So let me explain myself, and let me show you guys why this was done.**

 **First off, a few things. Yes, the characters are really OOC here, such as Blake being so murderous and angry, and Torchwick just being a douche. Also, I know this is clichéd as fuck when it comes to joining a terrorist organization—main character loses someone or something close to them, loses control and joins said organisation. I also know that a lot of you would probably be thinking Blake isn't likely to join the White Fang like that; it's not in her character. Oh and of course, the whole "OMFG HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU HAVE KILLED VELVET, YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" thing.**

 **Here's my explanation to you all: Blake isn't thinking rationally. From the start, I have been and always had been planning to portray Blake as having the shittiest luck around. Basically, it all started from Blake's mom dying during childbirth and Blake having a rough childhood. Then she was raped, and then her best friend killed, all in the span of two weeks. The anger she displays to Yang in this chapter is her pent up emotions. I like that Blake in the show is pretty much calm AF (except in Volume 2) but I feel even the most calm person will have their outbursts once in a while. Furthermore, Blake's trauma is reminiscent of that to what the Joker says in "The Killing Joke", where I quote, "All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy." And there is a reason for me following this to a big extreme.**

 **I had planned for the White Fang to be an integral part of the story from the beginning. It was in my drafts, my original chapters and my plans. However, how Blake joined the White Fang was a big problem during planning. I didn't want her to start out being in the White Fang, because then you wouldn't know her motivations for joining, and since the White Fang is a terrorist organisation, I didn't want Blake being misunderstood as simply being a terrorist. To that end, I had to insert Blake in somehow. Looking at the White Rose storyline, there really isn't much conflict there; it's just how Ruby and Weiss' relationship grows and blossoms. However, while I do have a Bumbleebee storyline, I realize there was much more room for conflict here, particularly since, from the show we know that the Faunus weren't and still aren't treated equally. After eliminating Blake as a member of the White Fang, I initially thought of making her an employee at SDC, not the factories. However, that didn't fit well with the whole discrimination part, so I turned her into a factory worker. Now, I just had to figure out how to get her to join the White Fang, which brings us to the Killing Joke. Having recently re-read it, I started to analyse the Joker's meaning to that particular quote. In the end, I realized that I could fit it into the story, even if it was extremely hard for me to do, not because I fear the backlash (I really don't. I don't like it, but I will do what I must.) but because I really really like Blake's character and didn't want her to go down this dark path.**

 **That brings me to what I consider the most controversial aspect of this chapter: that being Velvet's death. Obviously, I love Velvet, and originally she was going to survive. I had originally intended to rape to be it; that was the reason why Blake turned. However, going through the story, I realized that the rape, as horrible as it was, wasn't good enough. Why? Because of Yang. Yang made Blake realize that humanity isn't as screwed up as can be (at least momentarily), and it's the reason Blake trusts Yang. As such, Yang's rhetoric would probably make Blake's case of joining the White Fang look ridiculously underdeveloped if I had Blake just join the White Fang while under Yang's care. So, I had to come up with a more compelling reason to force Blake over the edge. I couldn't make it a rape again, because a) that's just wrong, b) it's uncreative and c) I couldn't make Blake go through it again. But at this point, I was stumped, wondering what could I do to turn Blake? The answer once again came from the Killing Joke. In it, if you believe the origin story Joker tells, he was an ordinary man with a loving pregnant wife. However, he's poor, so he meets up with some shady businessmen who want him to rob a card company. Horrified at first, he refuses, and walks out of the diner, only to meet two cops who tell him his wife had died in an accident. Without any more motivation to fight on, the man decides to take part in the robbery, which leads to him being frightened by Batman, falling into a vat of toxic waste, and becoming the Joker. And as I was drafting this chapter and deleting page after page, I came up with the ultimate solution to the problem: Velvet had to go, as painful as it sounds. It was the only way to motivate Blake over without killing the main characters like Yang. And let's face it, Velvet is the only person Blake has contact with apart from Yang and Ruby. Sure, we find out Blake talks to Neon too, but Neon was just tacked on (seriously, I had no one else that I could think of. I was gonna make her an OC). Plus, Velvet's death will cause the same effect that Penny and Pyrrha (RIP) had on the fanbase when they died. It's much worse when an innocent soul dies. I know I sound sadistic, but it's the truth.**

 **That's my explanation to you people. I know a lot of you aren't going to be happy about it, and I'm prepared for the amount of hate I am bound to get for this. However, know that it was hard for me—extremely hard—to write this chapter, because I got too emotional writing it. If you want to flame me, go ahead, I won't stop you. Also, I mentioned there will be death in this story, so I'm delivering on that.**

 **Another point you guys might like to find out: Why is Blake's weapon a knife instead of Gambol Shroud? The simple reason being, Blake's a slave worker at a factory. Do you think the men are dumb enough to give her a weapon that can be used against them? That being said, it would be dumb for Yang to give Blake Gambol Shroud, so I just gave Blake a knife, and being the world of RWBY, it doubles as a gun. Don't worry, though, Gambol Shroud will be appearing soon. Some of you have already figured me out, and I am impressed (Matt Cyr, looking at you. Sharp eyes, bro.)**

 **Also to address something else, yes, the characters are sometimes OOC. Remember, this is an AU. I have to make some edits to fit my story sometimes. Also, dialogue isn't always my strong suit. Plus, I sometimes forget how the characters are.**

 **Anyways, please read, review, favourite and/or follow or unfavourite and/or unfollow if you're that pissed off, and I will see you all in the next happier uplifting chapter. Until next time, RWBYSanctum out!**


	6. Author's Note

**Hey guys. So if you haven't really noticed by now, I've been off the grid for quite some time. Well, I put that down to a little something I like to call: EXAMS. Yep, in November, I'll be taking a major exam (like, life-determining major) and I've been focusing on it since July since I'm not in the best shape for it. Because of that, and because it's September, I haven't posted and won't be posting as often.**

 **HOWEVER! Do not fret, for I have some awesome news! After my exams end, I'm basically free till the next year, so what's a guy to do? Well, keep an eye out cause I'm about to announce the mother of all update schedules! Below is the list of stories I'll be releasing, the one-shots planned, and new stories planned!**

 **So here we go!**

 **Current stories**

 **Pokemon: Rise of Evil**

 **Arc 2 Chapter 2: Coordinate Release Date: 26th September**

 **Arc 2 Chapter 3: Siege Release Date: 30th November**

 **Arc 2 Chapter 4: Infiltrate Release Date: 4th December**

 **Arc 2 Finale: Revelations Release Date: 7th December**

 **Arc 3 will continue in February 2017**

 **RWBY Is Strange**

 **Crysalis Part 2: Discovery Release Date: 29th November**

 **Crysalis Part 3: Tension Release Date: 2nd December**

 **Crysalis Part 4: Vision Release Date: 6th December**

 **Crysalis Finale: Ignite Release Date: 8th December**

 **Out of Time (Episode 2) returns January 2017**

 **A Night To Remember (because of popular demand)**

 **Chapter 2 (which will be the FINAL CHAPTER) Release Date: 5th December**

 **On top of this, I'm also gonna be re-writing:**

 **X-Men: Age of Oblivion-I really wanted to finish this story, but lost major interest in it a long time ago. But, because of popular demand, I'll be rewriting it. Expected re-release: February 2017**

 **Remnants of Ourselves-The first chapter didn't go so well, so I'm planning a rethink. Expected re-release: March 2017**

 **And sadly, I'm also sad to announce that I'm cancelling Biting the Dust. Look, guys, I love the story a lot and I wanted to write it the way I wanted to. But I've had so many people throwing in requests (an euphamism) like, "If Blake doesn't turn away from the White Fang in like 2 chapters, I'm quitting this story" or "Could you make Weiss a tsundere (like what the hell is a tsundere anyways?)?" and it's getting on my nerves. I'm not gonna change my story just to suit your whims. I've grown tired of it, so I'm cancelling it.**

 **On a brighter note, I also have some one-shots and two new stories I'll be writing in December, plus a week-long Christmas-New Year special where I'll be writing a story from 24th to 30th December. The planned schedule so far is:**

 **Planned One-Shots**

 **Hollow Feeling (White Rose Angst Fluff) Release Date: 14th December**

 **The Last of Us (Attack on Titan Angst) Release Date: 16th December**

 **The Ties that Bind (Levi x Petra Angst Fluff) Release Date: 18th December**

 **Planned Stories**

 **Titanic Remnant (an AoT RWBY Crossover) Release Date: 20th December**

 **Survive (Amourshipping story) Release Date: 30th December**

 **Christmas Week**

 **24th Dec: Christmas Yeager (Eremika Christmas Special)**

 **25th Dec: Home for the Holidays (Advanceshipping Christmas Special)**

 **26th Dec: Gifts and Gaffs (RWBY Christmas Special)**

 **27th Dec: Day (Franticshipping One-Shot)**

 **28th Dec: I'll be putting up a poll nearer the date for you guys to decide**

 **29th Dec: Ignis Passion (Advanceshhipping One Shot Lemon)**

 **30th Dec: Survive Chapter 1**

 **At this point, you might notice I left a week-long gap in December where I'm not planning any stories. That's deliberate, and for a few reasons:**

 **1) I'll probably be working part-time and so won't have so much time to write**

 **2) I plan to build a relationship with my crush of two years (I haven't confessed yet, but plan to after the exams) and just want to spend some time with her.**

 **3) Pokemon Sun and Moon. Do I need to explain?**

 **4) I kinda want to expand my horizons on the anime side of stuff, plus catch up on a lot of movies, Game of Thrones, Gotham...**

 **5) and most importantly, I'll be working on my first original story (entitled Omega) that I hope to publish one day.**

 **So that's it for now! Hopefully you guys don't rage too hard on me for this, and please be patient! Thank you all, and I'll see you in December! Till the next time, RWBYSanctum out!**


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